Advance in Polymer Particles: Preparation and Application

Dear Colleagues,

There has been an increasing interest in using polymers, either of natural or synthetic origin, to produce nano- and/or microparticles in view of their relatively low cost, easy processability, and high chemical stability. Moreover, their functionalization has boosted the number of applications in which they can be used, ranging from some in the biomedical field to others to treat wastewater, because functionalization provides the means to flexibly tailor their properties. Polymer particles have been functionalized using a wide variety of methods, including chemical or physical approaches as well as the engineering of affinity tags or the use of living components, such as bacteria or yeasts. In addition, the combination of several modification strategies allows the fabrication of multifunctional structures, which permits performing several tasks at the same time. The use of polymer particles as versatile information carriers is a particular highlight in view of their ability to serve as scaffolds for functional cargos such as, among others, enzymes, microorganisms, drugs, or molecular sensors.

This Special Issue includes the potential topics listed below, but additional cutting-edge studies related to the novel development and application of multifunctional polymer microparticles are also welcomed.

• Establishment of novel reproducible polymer particle production methods;
• Multifunctionalization via chemical, physical, or enzymatic approaches;
• Development of novel characterization methods;
• Colloids and interfacial aspects;
• Encapsulating active compounds;
• Applications.

Dr. Cristina Campano
Dr. Maria Virginia Rivero Buceta
Guest Editors

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. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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.

• multifunctionalization
• polymer particles
• microparticles
• nanoparticles
• encapsulation
• diversification