Gels
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2026
·Vol. 12
·期 6
·464
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IF 6.4
Rui Li,Chang Xu,Qiannuo Gu,Xiaoyang Pan,Andong Qian,Xuning Leng
A sustainable alginate-based composite adsorbent was developed by valorizing soy whey wastewater for the efficient removal of copper (II) ions from aqueous solutions. Soy whey wastewater/sodium alginate/cellulose (SWWSAC) beads were fabricated via a controlled slow-release calcium ion cross-linking strategy. This strategy resulted in homogeneous gelation, effective encapsulation of wastewater-derived organics and the formation of a hierarchical mesoporous structure. Compared with pure sodium alginate (SA) and sodium alginate–cellulose (SAC) beads, the SWWSAC beads exhibited a significantly higher specific surface area (3.95 m2/g) and pore volume (0.021 cm3/g), thus having markedly enhanced copper (II) ion adsorption performance. Batch adsorption experiments demonstrate that the adsorption process was strongly dependent on solution pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time and initial metal concentration. Kinetic analysis indicates that the adsorption process followed a pseudo-second-order model, while equilibrium data were well described by the Langmuir isotherm, corresponding to monolayer chemisorption. Based on this isotherm, SWWSAC beads had a theoretical maximum adsorption capacity of 168.3 mg/g (25 °C), 190.8 mg/g (35 °C), and 204.4 mg/g (45 °C). Thermodynamic results reveal that the adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic. FTIR and XPS analyses confirm that copper (II) ion removal was governed by synergistic complexation involving carboxyl, hydroxyl, carbonyl, and protein-derived nitrogen-containing functional groups. Moreover, the SWWSAC beads had a copper (II) ion removal efficiency of (92.4 ± 0.4)% and retained 73.3% of their initial adsorption capacity after six regeneration cycles in actual electroplating wastewater treatment. In this process, the beads exhibited good anti-interference performance against coexisting cations and good structural stability. Therefore, this work demonstrates an effective and low-cost strategy for copper (II) ion removal while providing a value-added route for the sustainable utilization of soy whey wastewater.
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FOOD CONTROL
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2026
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IF 7
Jun Yang,Zhengke Zhang,Xiangbin Xu,Mohammad Rizwan Khan,Naushad Ahmad,Abdorreza Mohammadi Nafchi,Haiming Chen,Wanli Zhang
Sodium alginate/pectin (SP) composite film functionalized with Nano-selenium (SeNPs) stabilized with Dendrobium officinale polysaccharides (DOP) was developed to enhance its physicochemical and biological activity properties. The addition of DOP significantly improved the dispersibility and surface potential of SeNPs, and the nanoparticles stabilized with 100% DOP exhibited the smallest particle size (210.45 nm), highest zeta potential (-7.95 mV), and optimal superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) -like activities. Adding 2% SeNPs to SP film improved UV-blocking performance, matrix density, and thermal stability, as well as extensibility and barrier performance. Among the various formulations, SPS-2 film (SP film ccontaining 2% SeNPs) exhibited the highest antioxidant and antibacterial activity, effectively inhibiting Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) . The high-concentration SeNPs composite film demonstrated high biocompatibility, exhibiting no hemolytic activity against red blood cells and minimal cytotoxicity against RAW 264.7 cells. In a postharvest strawberry preservation test, the SPS-2 coating effectively reduced weight loss and spoilage, maintained firmness and soluble solids, and significantly enhanced antioxidant activity by preserving total phenol and flavonoid content. These results demonstrate that 2% SeNPs-added SP films provide an integrated strategy combining enzyme-mimetic activity, enhanced film performance, and high biosafety, and show promising potential for postharvest fruit preservation.
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JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY A-CHEMISTRY
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2026
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IF 4.4
Nana Lei,Junyan Liu,Wenjing Guo,Bowen Liu,Liming Fan
Color-tunable luminescent hydrogels were assembled from naturally derived sodium alginate (AG) and κ-carrageenan (κ-Car). • The hydrogels were formed through coordination interaction between Eu 3+ /Tb 3+ ions and the carboxylate groups of AG, together with a 3D hydrogen-bonding network. • The hydrogel beads and films were fabricated by the droplet method and the immersion/ion diffusion method, respectively. To develop biocompatible optical materials with high transparency, tunable emission, and information encryption capability, color-tunable luminescent hydrogels were prepared using naturally derived sodium alginate (AG) and κ-carrageenan (κ-Car) as a composite polysaccharide matrix. The hydrogels were formed through coordination interaction between Eu 3+ /Tb 3+ ions and the carboxylate groups of AG, together with a three-dimensional hydrogen-bonding network from AG and κ-Car. 2,6-Pyridinedicarboxylic acid (DPA) was introduced as an antenna ligand to sensitize the characteristic emission of rare-earth ions. Luminescent hydrogel beads and films were fabricated by the droplet method and the immersion/ion diffusion method, respectively, and then their photoluminescence properties, microstructures, and information encryption behaviors were systematically investigated. The obtained hydrogels remained highly transparent under visible light and exhibited intense emission under UV excitation. DPA markedly enhanced the characteristic emission of Eu 3+ , and continuous color tuning from red to green was achieved by varying the Eu 3+ /Tb 3+ molar ratio. SEM and FT-IR analyses revealed that the hydrogel films possessed a layered microstructure and that carboxylate groups were involved in coordination with rare-earth ions. Taking advantage of the optical feature of being hidden under visible light and revealed under UV light, array-based and multilevel responsive information encryption models were constructed, enabling the visual readout of concealed information. This work provides a facile and environmentally benign strategy for constructing rare-earth luminescent hydrogels and expands their potential applications in anti-counterfeiting and information encryption. Color-tunable luminescent hydrogels for information encryption were assembled from naturally derived sodium alginate (AG) and κ-carrageenan (κ-Car) via Eu 3+ /Tb 3+ ions coordination, sensitized by 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (DPA). The hydrogel beads and films were fabricated by the droplet method and the immersion/ion diffusion method, respectively. Download: Download high-res image (113KB) Download: Download full-size image
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高影响因子
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
·
2026
·
IF 13.2
Chengyu Yu,Nana You,Chengxu Pei,Junchao Ren,Mengde Huang,Shijing Song,Yuanyuan Xu,Guangbing Zhao,Hao Nie,Hanwu Lei,Xuya Jiang,Fang Wang,Qingfa Zhang
Conductive hydrogels integrating mechanical reinforcement, electromagnetic shielding, and sensing functions have attracted considerable attention for multifunctional wearable electronics. Herein, a morphology-controlled polypyrrole (PPy) strategy was proposed to fabricate biochar (BC)-reinforced sodium alginate (SA) and polyacrylamide (PAM) semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) multifunctional conductive hydrogels. The results showed that the tubular PPy-based composite hydrogel, denoted as BSPH@PPy-Tube exhibited enhanced strength, stretchability, and toughness, with a tensile strength of 1.00 MPa, an elongation at break of 1486.43%, a modulus of 0.07 GPa, and a tensile toughness of 8.14 MJ·m −3 . This improvement was attributed to the synergistic network among tubular PPy, BC, and the SA and PAM matrix, where tubular PPy served as conductive bridges and stress-transfer pathways, while hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and π-π stacking strengthen the interfacial interactions within the hydrogel. The interconnected tubular PPy and BC conductive network promoted electron transport, interfacial polarization, and multiple electromagnetic wave attenuation, achieving an EMI shielding effectiveness of 46.19 dB. The BSPH@PPy-Tube was further assembled as a flexible strain sensor, exhibiting a gauge factor of 5.07 in the 100–200% strain range and stable electrical responses to human motions. This work provides a feasible strategy for constructing multifunctional conductive hydrogels with mechanical robustness, electromagnetic protection, and wearable sensing capability.
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DESALINATION
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2026
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IF 9.9
Peng Liu,Xian Sun,Xiaobin Gu,Yunan Mu,Hongen Nian
A SA/MMT/CNT hydrogel enables efficient solar-driven interfacial evaporation. • MMT regulates water states to promote interfacial water evaporation. • Fluorinated interfacial engineering effectively suppresses salt crystallization. • MD simulations reveal hydrogen-bond evolution and interfacial ion exclusion. Conventional desalination system suffers from high energy consumption and complicated equipment combination. Solar driven interfacial evaporation offers great potential for next-generation desalination since it is only driven by solar energy, and its system efficiency is substantially high. However, achieving a balance of strong light absorption, structural stability and long-term salt tolerance in a single solar evaporator is still a big challenge. This work, therefore, proposes a sodium alginate /montmorillonite/carbon nanotube (SA/MMT/CNTs) composite hydrogel for efficient solar-driven interfacial evaporation. By integrating a broadband photothermal CNTs network with low cost and hydroxyl-rich MMT nanosheets, the composite system simultaneously achieves enhanced solar light absorption and accelerated water evaporation. To further improve the anti-salt performance of the prepared composite hydrogel, a hydrophobic surface modification method with silane coupling modification strategy is introduced. And molecular dynamics (MD) simulations provide molecular-level insights into the evolution of molecular configuration and hydrogen bond density, ion distribution, thereby revealing the underlying mechanisms responsible for the improved anti-salt performance. The resulting composite hydrogel based solar evaporator delivers an evaporation rate of 1.76 kg m −2 h −1 under one-sun irradiation. In addition, it exhibits excellent long-term stability and strong resistance to salt accumulation under salt solution. Outdoor experiment in Xining City, Qinghai province is preformed to verify the practical potential of the composite hydrogel based solar evaporator. This study provides a low-cost and effective strategy for high-performance solar desalination systems. Download: Download high-res image (372KB) Download: Download full-size image
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高影响因子
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
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2026
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IF 8.7
Ying Xu,Chengyu Zhang,Jialin Wang,Ruijie Liu,Ming Chang,Xingguo Wang
Algal oil, an eco-friendly and DHA-rich substance, is limited in market applications due to its fishy odor and low DHA bioaccessibility. This study investigated the effects of combining sodium alginate (SA) with carrageenan (C), Arabic gum (AG), or xanthan gum (XG) on the hardness, digestibility, and flavor controlling of gel beads encapsulating algal oil emulsion. The SA/other polysaccharides ratio of 0.8/0.2 was selected based on comprehensive evaluation of viscosity, hardness, and morphological uniformity. Under this ratio, SA-C, SA-AG and SA-XG exhibited distinct digestibility during in vitro digestion. SA-C gel beads showed the highest free fatty acids (FFA) release rate, with DHA bioaccessibility of 86.85%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses revealed that SA-C gel beads possessed a highly amorphous structure and relatively weak hydrogen bonds, consistent with the larger pore sizes after digestion and lower resistance to oil release observed compared to SA-AG and SA-XG gel beads. A 60-day storage experiment further demonstrated that gel bead encapsulation significantly ( P < 0.05) reduced malodorous substances such as (E, E)-2,4-heptadienal by 76.26%, effectively alleviating the fishy odor.
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PubMed
高影响因子
Gels
·
2025
·Vol. 11
·期 7
·502
·
IF 5.3
Qingchang Tian,Wenqi Li,Lijiaqi Zhang,Kefen Gan,Yiting Zhang,Shuling Wang
Hydrogels possess advantages for providing a moist wound environment and enabling drug or cell delivery. Wound healing is a complex, multistage process where macrophages play a pivotal role; they influence inflammation resolution, anti-inflammatory cytokine production, angiogenesis, and extracellular matrix remodeling. Combining hydrogel materials with adoptive M2 macrophages offers a promising adoptive cell therapy approach to accelerate healing. In the present study, sodium alginate, a natural polymer, was harnessed to create hydrogel sponges embedded with M2 macrophages for application to chronic wounds. Hydrogel sponges were capable of preserving the characteristics of M2 macrophages, secreting functional cellular factors, and maintaining viability. Hydrogel sponges loaded with M2 type macrophages could promote chronic wound healing in the back of type 2 diabetic mice. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that M2 macrophages successfully grew and proliferated within the hydrogel sponges, exhibiting anti-inflammatory effects, which is expected to offer a cell therapy approach to diabetic wound treatment.
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PubMed
高影响因子
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
·
2025
·
IF 12.5
Zixing Yan,Qingling Nie,Jiajia Liu,Jingxin Chen,Youmei Liu,Yudong Lu,Mengjun Xu,Zhenwen Lin
Stomach disorders are a common category of digestive system diseases. With the increasing emphasis on traditional medicine, the use of herbal medicines in treating gastric diseases has attracted much attention. However, direct administration of herbal medicines with short half-life leads to low drug utilization. To address this problem, pH-responsive composite hydrogel beads consisting of sodium alginate/carboxymethyl chitosan/gelatin-naringenin (SA/CMCh/Gel-Nar) were designed in this study to encapsulate decocted herbal saddle decoctions (AZD) for use as sustained-release medications for gastrointestinal disorders. The SA/CMCh/Gel-Nar hydrogel beads have high drug loading capacity, strong adhesion (98.33 % retention), and excellent pH-responsive sustained-release properties. In SGF, 39 % of the drug was released within 2 h, ensuring rapid therapeutic efficacy, while in SIF, the remaining 61 % was gradually released within 23 h. With excellent antimicrobial efficacy (>93.4 %) and high biosafety (cell viability >97.21 %), these hydrogel beads provide a promising and safe platform for sustained drug delivery in the gastrointestinal tract.
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PubMed
高影响因子
Food Chemistry-X
·
2024
·
IF 6.5
Jinman He,Wanli Zhang,Gulden Goksen,Mohammad Rizwan Khan,Naushad Ahmad,Xinli Cong
In this study, zein-pectin nanoparticles loaded with Wampee [ Clausena lansium (Lour.) Skeels] (WEO) were developed. The particle size of the nanoparticles is 515.9 nm, polydispersity index is 0.4 and zeta potential is −39.3 mV. Subsequently, the ZWP was incorporated into sodium alginate (SA)-based film (ZWP-S). The films were then analyzed to determine their physical properties and thermal stability, and also to examine their microstructure and intermolecular forces using SEM, FTIR, and XRD techniques. Additionally, the films were evaluated for their antimicrobial and antioxidant activity, as well as their ability to sustain the release of WEO. Overall, the ZWP-S film conferred excellent functional properties, including UV barrier performance, mechanical properties (21 % increase in tensile strength), water sensitivity, stability, more compact structure, high antioxidant activity and long-lasting antimicrobial activity, surpassing those of the control film. Consequently, it was applied as a novel coating for preserving strawberries, rotting rate of strawberries was reduced by 43 % at 6d, yielding promising results in prolonging the freshness of the fruit.
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PubMed
高影响因子
Journal of Water Process Engineering
·
2024
·
IF 6.3
Can Cai,Longfei Gao,Yuzhu Xiong
In this work, Fe 3 O 4 magnetic particles were in-situ grown on the surface of Montmorillonite (MTT) via co-precipitation method, and a green, recyclable chitosan (CS)/carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/sodium alginate (SA)/MMT-Fe 3 O 4 double network (DN) hydrogel (C-M-SD/MMT-Fe 3 O 4 ) was successfully synthesized. The magnetization of MMT-Fe 3 O 4 addition improved the maximum compressive strength of CS/CMC/SA double network hydrogel (C-M-SD), reaching 17.13 kPa. The adsorption capacities of the magnetized DN hydrogel for methylene blue (MB) and Cu 2+ were 224.49 mg/g and 121.15 mg/g, respectively. Moreover, cytotoxicity tests using CCK8 solution showed that the cell activity was >80 % after 24 h culture in the prepared hydrogel extracts, which demonstrated that the prepared hydrogel adsorbent did not release any toxic substances into the water source throughout the adsorption process . It can be concluded from the Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) that the saturation magnetization of the prepared magnetic double-network hydrogel reaches 15 emu/g and the coercivity is 0, showing the superparamagnetism . The synthesized C-M-SD/MMT-Fe 3 O 4 hydrogel possesses excellent mechanical properties, natural degradability, recyclability and biocompatibility, making it an ideal candidate for wastewater treatment applications.
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高影响因子
Gels
·
2026
·Vol. 12
·期 6
·468
·
IF 6.4
Xuecui Song,Jing Guo,Wei Chen,Mengya Liu,Yihang Zhang,Wenhui Xiao,Fucheng Guan
Recently, conductive hydrogels have gained extensive applications in flexible wearable electronics and have garnered considerable attention. However, their inherent swelling behaviour and limited mechanical strength have hindered their further development. In this study, a polyacrylamide/sodium alginate (PAM/SA, PS)-based hydrogel with high mechanical strength and anti-swelling properties was prepared by combining mechanical stretching–drying pretreatment with a bimetallic ion (Li+/multivalent metal ion) post-soaking strategy. Among multivalent metal ions (Ca2+, Al3+, and Zr4+), the Al3+-crosslinked hydrogel (PS-Al3+) demonstrated outstanding overall performance. It exhibited excellent mechanical properties, with tensile strength, elongation at break, and impact strength reaching 9.71 MPa, 993.53%, and 75 MJ/m3, respectively. Its dense network structure also gave it excellent anti-swelling properties (swelling ratio of 14%). As a strain sensor, the PS-Al3+hydrogel displayed good conductivity (1.33 S/m), high sensitivity (GF = 2.25), fast response (response time of 403 ms), and negligible hysteresis (recovery time of 407 ms). Benefiting from its exceptional resistance to expansion, the material’s sensor response signals in underwater environments are highly consistent with those in air. Furthermore, this sensor has been successfully applied to swimming motion monitoring and data transmission in underwater environments. This study proposes a novel, low-cost, and simple approach for developing flexible sensors suitable for underwater environments.
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高影响因子
LWT-FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
·
2026
·
IF 6.6
Zhou Huang,Ming Zhou,Baijun Ma,Hao Luo,Yucheng Jiao,Shi Chen
To overcome the challenges of volatile active agents and the limited functionality of biopolymer-based packaging, a novel synergistic strategy was devised by constructing a biomimetic “organelle-cytoplasm-cell wall” system within a chitosan/sodium alginate (CS/SA) matrix. This was achieved by simultaneously incorporating citric acid as a covalent crosslinker and porous starch (PS) pre-loaded with thymol (THY) as a sustained-release organelle. The synergistic interplay between the robust cross-linked network and the PS-THY capsules endowed the composite film (CS-c-SA/PS-THY) with exceptional comprehensive properties: a 42.23% enhancement in tensile strength, an order-of-magnitude reduction in water vapor permeability (7.11 g/(m 2 ·24 h)), and a 23 °C increase in thermal decomposition temperature. Crucially, the film achieved sustained and controlled THY release that obeyed Fickian diffusion, which underpinned its potent, long-lasting antioxidant (75.82% DPPH scavenging) and antibacterial (inhibition zones >18 mm) efficacy. In practical pork preservation, the CS-c-SA/PS-THY significantly outperformed the control and the CS-c-SA/THY, effectively inhibiting microbial growth and quality deterioration to extend the shelf life by at least 4 days. This work provides a scalable and fundamental strategy for developing high-performance, sustainable active packaging.
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高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）