Section Collection Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to invite you to contribute to the Section Microscale hydrogels.
Hydrogels are reticulated polymers with high water content, which are biocompatible and have mechanical properties similar to human tissues. Microscale hydrogels are the product of combining advanced processing technologies with biomaterials for the preparation of micron-sized units (biobricks) that mimic human tissues. These bio-bricks with different properties are assembled by using engineering methods so as to mimic the chemical parameters, physical structure and other characteristics of biological tissues and eventually form functionalized tissue structures. Self-assembly is one of the most important means to assemble these bio-bricks, which are difficult to manipulate by conventional mechanical methods due to the small scale (micron level) and the softness of the materials.
These microgels find wide application in the biomedical field because of the ease of injectability, controlled release of therapeutics, flexible means of synthesis, associated tunability, and can be engineered as stimuli-responsive.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Leading Section Editor:
Prof. S. Sakhawat Shah
Support Section Editors:
Dr. Seluk Poyraz
Dr. Yinghong Wu