Editorial on the Special Issue “Advances in Composite Gels”

Abstract

Polymer gels are soft materials composed of a large amount of solvent (water, organic solvent, and ionic liquid) and a polymer, and they are constructed using a three-dimensional network [...]

Mucus‐Mimicking Mucin‐Based Hydrogels by Tandem Chemical and Physical Crosslinking

“…[53] This finding was in good agreement with density values, which increased with the number of freeze-thawing cycles, and is likely associated with structural changes arising from the presence of more chemical and physical crosslinks. [54][55][56][57] An increase in GA concentration from 0.3% to 0.75% w/v and, consequently, in the crosslinking density resulted in a slight though statistically significant increase of the density from 0.0529 ± 0.0008 to 0.0648 ± 0.0003 g cm −3 after one freeze-thawing cycle and from 0.0653 ± 0.0002 to 0.0661 ± 0.0001 g cm −3 after two freeze-thawing cycles (Table 1). These results indicated that two freeze-thawing cycles lead to the formation of a more densely crosslinked network and more mechanically stable mucin-based matrices.…”

In situ copper-ion catalyzed synthesis of copper containing poly(isocyanurate-urea) xerogels with antibacterial activity and biocompatibility for biomedical applications

“…[1][2][3][4] These materials are generally formed by either hydrolysis and/or condensation of either organic or inorganic reactants. [5][6][7] Organic and inorganic hybrid nanostructures formed by various synthetic strategies can be transformed into carbon containing metal oxide or metal nanostructures upon heat treatment. 8,9 The porosity, density, and surface area of these materials can be tuned by varying the concentration of the reactants, choice of solvents and the drying method.…”

“…4,[10][11][12] Since xerogels can be made of polymers, the specific properties of polymers and in turn the gels could be tailor-made to suit the requisites of polymer scaffolds for their use in various medical applications. 6,13 Studies have reported that silica @collagen xerogels display mechanical strength in segment similar to the bone, and their bio polymeric surface functionalization has favored drug inclusion and release properties. 14 While SiO 2 xerogels have an important good drug release behavior in vitro which shows their potential applications in novel drug carriers for bone tissue engineering, 15 Cheirmadurai et al have reported synthetic polymers like PCL, PVA and PEG for wound dressing application.…”