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        <title>Frontiers in Soft Matter | Gels section | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/soft-matter/sections/gels</link>
        <description>RSS Feed for Gels section in the Frontiers in Soft Matter journal | New and Recent Articles</description>
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        <pubDate>2026-05-13T15:36:03.815+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsfm.2024.1356641</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsfm.2024.1356641</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Advancement in automation of co-extrusion collagen casings]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-03-15T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Perspective</category>
        <author>Shai Barbut</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Co extrusion sausage technology has been a game changer in the industry as it has transformed the traditional way of filling meat betters into premade casings (e.g., synthetic materials such as cellulose or natural casings) to producing the casings on top of the meat batter as it comes out of the stuffer. This allows full automation of the process (working 24/7) with lower waste, while also increasing food safety standards. The main material used is collagen which today is extracted from a limited type of beef hides. It is then treated with a strong alkaline solution, to breakdown some of the original structures, and later with a strong acid to allow swelling of the resulting suspension. The application of the collagen gel requires special equipment to line up the collagen fibers in such a way that they provide the strength and elasticity during the cooking operation (meat expends during cooking) and later provide the consumer with the characteristics bit/“snap” similar to natural casings. Understanding the interactions between the chemical and physical properties of collagen is essential in obtaining good results. During production it is important that the collagen is quickly dried and crosslinked so the shape of the product will not be modified. This requires special large horizontal dryers and a unit to apply liquid smoke (source of aldehydes for crosslinking). Currently most systems are built for large capacity production, and therefore require large investment, however the industry is working on developing smaller and more flexible units for future use.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsfm.2024.1362677</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsfm.2024.1362677</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Antimicrobial cellulose hydrogels against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-02-23T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Karla Miño</author><author>Antonela Pérez</author><author>Tamia Xaymara Iza-García</author><author>Dayanna Gabriela Cabascango</author><author>Catalina Gordillo</author><author>Andrea Gordillo</author><author>Nelson Vispo</author><author>António Machado</author><author>Camilo Zamora-Ledezma</author><author>Frank Alexis</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The development of hydrogels has a significant impact in fields such as tissue engineering and biomedical devices. The present study tests different cellulose particles extracted from plants to produce hydrogels and identify if these particles and hydrogels have antimicrobial properties. Nine cellulose particles from Ecuadoran biodiversity were obtained using an established chemical extraction protocol, characterized using known techniques, and evaluated for bacterial growth in-vitro. In addition, two particles of nine were selected to perform bacterial growth rates and bacterial adhesion assays. The bacterial growth rates with cellulose F1 and F53 were similar to the positive control (with antibiotic) with both Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and TG1 strains. However, the results showed that the bacterial growth rate with seven of the nine cellulose particles was lower than the negative control (without antibiotics) suggesting antifouling properties. Based on the results using cellulose particles and hydrogels with antifouling properties, we prepared a plant extract to test the bactericide properties against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923) and Gram-negative (E. coli ATCC 25922) bacteria, evidencing the highest inhibitory effect at 40 and 60 mg/mL against S. aureus and E. coli, respectively. Lastly, we encapsulated the bactericide plant extract into the anti-fouling hydrogel. The results demonstrated that the combination of antifouling and bactericide properties could be an alternative approach for surface-modified cellulosic materials applications in the future.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsfm.2023.1125163</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsfm.2023.1125163</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Stress quantification in a composite matrix via mechanophores]]></title>
        <pubdate>2023-04-10T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Jared A. Gohl</author><author>Tristan J. Wiley</author><author>Hao-Chun Chang</author><author>Chia-Chih Chang</author><author>Chelsea S. Davis</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Stress concentrations in polymer matrix composites occur due to non-uniform loadings which develop near the interface between the matrix and reinforcement in a stressed composite. Methods to better understand the evolution of this stress concentration are required for the development of advanced composites. Mechanophores, which are stress responsive molecules, can be embedded into the polymer matrix and used to quantify the local stresses in a loaded composite. In this work, single particle model composites were fabricated by combining functionalized glass particles embedded into a silicone/mechanophore matrix. Confocal microscopy was then used to measure the mechanophore activation in situ during mechanical loading. The fluorescence intensity was correlated to maximum principal stress values obtained from a finite element analysis (FEA) model of the system utilizing an Ogden hyperelastic model to represent the elastomer. By calibrating stress to fluorescence intensity spatially, quantitative stress measurements can be obtained directly from fluorescent images. To validate this technique, calibrated stress values for a two-particle composite system were compared to a FEA model and good agreement was found. Further experiments were performed on silicone matrix composites containing short cylindrical particles oriented with their major axis parallel or perpendicular to the stretching direction. To demonstrate the versatility of the single particle intensity/stress calibration approach, maximum principal stress values were mapped on the fluorescence images of the cylindrical experiments. This technique has potential to quantify stress concentrations quickly and accurately in new composite designs without the use of FEA models or differential image correlation.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsfm.2022.1101680</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsfm.2022.1101680</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Physical properties and cellular responses of gelatin methacryloyl bulk hydrogels and highly ordered porous hydrogels]]></title>
        <pubdate>2023-01-12T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Haiyan Yin</author><author>Mengxiang Zhu</author><author>Yingying Wang</author><author>Lihua Luo</author><author>Qingsong Ye</author><author>Bae Hoon Lee</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Protein-based hydrogels hold a high content of water in their three-dimensional (3D) network structure and exhibit innate biological activities as well as soft tissue-like mechanical properties, resulting in being highly applicable to various tissue engineering fields. However, precisely controlling the 3D porous structure of protein-based hydrogels remains a challenging task, and understanding the influence of their porous structure on physical properties and cellular responses is crucial for tissue engineering applications. In this study, we prepared highly ordered gelatin methacryloyl hydrogels with regular interconnected pores and traditional bulk hydrogels with irregular pores to evaluate their differences in physiochemical properties and cellular behaviors. Highly ordered gelatin methacryloyl hydrogels exhibited a high degree of compliance owing to their sponge-like structure whereas gelatin methacryloyl bulk hydrogels exhibited relatively higher moduli but were brittle due to a densely packed structure. The highly ordered gelatin methacryloyl hydrogels with interconnected pores supported higher cell viability (about 100%) due to an efficient flux of oxygen and nutrients compared to the dense bulk hydrogels showing cell viability (around 80%). Also, cells in the highly ordered gelatin methacryloyl hydrogels displayed a more stretched morphology compared to those in the gelatin methacryloyl bulk hydrogels that exhibited a more round morphology during the cell culture period.]]></description>
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