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Gels
Special Issues
Polysaccharide Hydrogels 2.0
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Polysaccharide Hydrogels 2.0

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 8115

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Bjørn Torger Stokke

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Biophysics and Medical Technology, Department of Physics, NTNU The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
Interests: biopolymers; biopolymer mesoscale structure formation (PEC, multilayers, hydrogels, and fibrills); microfluidics assisted soft materials asssembly; hydrogel structure; bioresponsive hydrogels; biosensors; biopolymers at the single molecule level
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polysaccharides are an attractive source for hydrogels for many reasons, including the following: they occur abundantly; they originate almost exclusively from renewable sources; they offer a rich source in terms of building blocks and connectivity; they exploit various types of principles for interactions supporting gel formation; and they offer chemical groups that can be readily modified to alter and enhance their functionality. Polysaccharides exist either as homopolymers or heteropolymers. In the latter group, variations in the number of constituents, their sequential arrangements, and their connectivity in terms of branching can be found. This group of materials has also been reported to possess capacities that are biocompatible or that stimulate biological responses. There is an increasing interest in hydrogel materials, driven by a blend of the abovementioned facets. The particularities of the gel state, its formation, and how the molecular features of polysaccharides underpin hydrogel structure formation and the final hydrogel properties are often challenging to elucidate. These challenges of generating a comprehensive understanding are best addressed using a multi-tool approach, combining information at various scales. Furthermore, experimental approaches supplemented with theoretical and numerical studies appear to provide a more comprehensive description.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together researchers that are active in the field of polysaccharide hydrogels. Various topics are welcome, addressing, for example, structure formation during gelation, structure–function relationships, modification of polysaccharides and their use to exploit novel gelation mechanisms, applications of polysaccharide hydrogels, environmental aspects, hydrogel molding, and printing with polysaccharide hydrogels, to mention a few.

Prof. Dr. Bjørn Torger Stokke
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Polysaccharide sol–gel transition
  • Gelation mechanisms
  • Gel structure
  • Novel gelation mechanisms
  • Polysaccharide double network hydrogels
  • Synergy
  • Polysaccharide hydrogel molding
  • Polysaccharide hydrogel printing
  • Applications of polysaccharide hydrogels

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3169 KiB  
Article
Donnan Contribution and Specific Ion Effects in Swelling of Cationic Hydrogels are Additive: Combined High-Resolution Experiments and Finite Element Modeling
by Nataša Žuržul, Arne Ilseng, Victorien E. Prot, Hrafn M. Sveinsson, Bjørn H. Skallerud and Bjørn T. Stokke
Gels 2020, 6(3), 31; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/gels6030031 - 17 Sep 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2848
Abstract
Finite element modeling applied to analyze experimentally determined hydrogel swelling data provides quantitative description of the hydrogel in the aqueous solutions with well-defined ionic content and environmental parameters. In the present study, we expand this strategy to analysis of swelling of hydrogels over [...] Read more.
Finite element modeling applied to analyze experimentally determined hydrogel swelling data provides quantitative description of the hydrogel in the aqueous solutions with well-defined ionic content and environmental parameters. In the present study, we expand this strategy to analysis of swelling of hydrogels over an extended concentration of salt where the Donnan contribution and specific ion effects are dominating at different regimes. Dynamics and equilibrium swelling were determined for acrylamide and cationic acrylamide-based hydrogels by high-resolution interferometry technique for step-wise increase in NaCl and NaBr concentration up to 2 M. Although increased hydrogel swelling volume with increasing salt concentration was the dominant trend for the uncharged hydrogel, the weakly charged cationic hydrogel was observed to shrink for increasing salt concentration up to 0.1 M, followed by swelling at higher salt concentrations. The initial shrinking is due to the ionic equilibration accounted for by a Donnan term. Comparison of the swelling responses at high NaCl and NaBr concentrations between the uncharged and the cationic hydrogel showed similar specific ion effects. This indicates that the ion non-specific Donnan contribution and specific ion effects are additive in the case where they are occurring in well separated ranges of salt concentration. We develop a novel finite element model including both these mechanisms to account for the observed swelling in aqueous salt solution. In particular, a salt-specific, concentration-dependent Flory–Huggins parameter was introduced for the specific ion effects. This is the first report on finite element modeling of hydrogels including specific ionic effects and underpins improvement of the mechanistic insight of hydrogel swelling that can be used to predict its response to environmental change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polysaccharide Hydrogels 2.0)
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12 pages, 2170 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and 3D Printing of Conducting Alginate–Polypyrrole Ionomers
by Cassandra J. Wright, Binbin Zhang Molino, Johnson H. Y. Chung, Jonathan T. Pannell, Melissa Kuester, Paul J. Molino and Timothy W. Hanks
Gels 2020, 6(2), 13; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/gels6020013 - 18 Apr 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4653
Abstract
Hydrogels composed of calcium cross-linked alginate are under investigation as bioinks for tissue engineering scaffolds due to their variable viscoelasticity, biocompatibility, and erodibility. Here, pyrrole was oxidatively polymerized in the presence of sodium alginate solutions to form ionomeric composites of various compositions. The [...] Read more.
Hydrogels composed of calcium cross-linked alginate are under investigation as bioinks for tissue engineering scaffolds due to their variable viscoelasticity, biocompatibility, and erodibility. Here, pyrrole was oxidatively polymerized in the presence of sodium alginate solutions to form ionomeric composites of various compositions. The IR spectroscopy shows that mild base is required to prevent the oxidant from attacking the alginate during the polymerization reaction. The resulting composites were isolated as dried thin films or cross-linked hydrogels and aerogels. The products were characterized by elemental analysis to determine polypyrrole incorporation, electrical conductivity measurements, and by SEM to determine changes in morphology or large-scale phase separation. Polypyrrole incorporation of up to twice the alginate (monomer versus monomer) provided materials amenable to 3D extrusion printing. The PC12 neuronal cells adhered and proliferated on the composites, demonstrating their biocompatibility and potential for tissue engineering applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polysaccharide Hydrogels 2.0)
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