Hydrogels
- Submission status
- Open
- Submission deadline
Hydrogels are crosslinked polymer networks with a large amount of water; hydrogels can be found naturally such as collagen and gelatin or can be made synthetically. The latter are nowadays more in demand due to their higher water absorption capacity and long service life; their tunable properties and versatile fabrication methods have been exploited in a variety of engineering applications including soft robotics and wastewater treatment. Because of their similar characteristics with soft biological tissues, hydrogels have also been the focus of research in the biomaterials community and have been studied for their use in biomedical applications such as tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
This Collection aims to gather the latest advances in the topic of hydrogels, focusing on their synthesis, characterisation as well as their use in biomedical, engineering, and natural sciences applications.
Editors
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Jeffrey Bates
University of Utah, USA
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Kristopher A. Kilian
The University of New South Wales, Australia
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Silviya Petrova Zustiak
Saint Louis University, USA
Jeffrey Bates is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and 
Engineering at the University of Utah. His research explores the interfaces of polymer materials with biological interfaces and the development of novel polymer materials used in soft robotics, drug delivery devices, chemical sensors, sustainability, and biodegradable applications. Professor Jeffrey Bates has been an Editorial Board Member for Scientific Reports since 2023.
Kristopher A. Kilian is Scientia Associate Professor of Chemistry 
and of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of New South Wales. His research focuses on structure-function relationships in the tissue microenvironment and the development of novel hydrogel biomaterials for tissue engineering and biotechnology. Professor Kilian has been an Editorial Board Member for Scientific Reports since 2015.
Silviya Petrova Zustiak is a Professor and Associate Chair in Biomedical 
Engineering at Saint Louis University, St Louis, MO, where she also co-directs two large institutes: the Institute for Drug and Biotherapeutic Innovation and the Institute for Translational Neuroscience. Dr Zustiak’s research is focused on developing hydrogel biomaterials as cell scaffolds, drug screening platforms and drug delivery devices and is highly multidisciplinary. Professor Zustiak has been an Editorial Board Member for Scientific Reports since 2023.
