ReviewPolymers2025
Functional Hydrogels in Food Applications: A Review of Crosslinking Technologies, Encapsulation Trends, and Emerging Challenges.
Review in Polymers, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Sonication-Freezing-Assisted Extraction of Chia Seed Mucilage: Functional and Structure-Rheology Relationships and Molecular Weight Determination.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Protein-Polysaccharide Gel Systems for Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Delivery in Sustainable Food Packaging: A Review.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Gel-Based 3D Food Printing for Dysphagia Management: Advances in Personalized Nutrition, Texture Control, and Clinical Translation.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Food-Grade Microgels for Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Design, Fabrication, and Targeted Delivery.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Marine Algae Hydrogels as Emerging Biomaterials for Medicine.Gels (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Hydrogels derived from natural and synthetic polymers have emerged as versatile materials with wide applications in food science, biotechnology, and health-related sectors, providing unique opportunities to encapsulate, protect, and deliver bioactive compounds, as well as to create new textures and functional properties in food systems. This review summarizes the latest advances in the design and application of hydrogels, highlighting the critical relationship between polymer structure, crosslinking strategies, and functional performance. The analysis reveals that while significant progress has been achieved, challenges persist in scaling laboratory-scale hydrogel systems to industrially relevant processes, where stability, reproducibility, and regulatory acceptance remain major bottlenecks. Emerging directions in the field include the development of smart hydrogels that respond to environmental stimuli (pH, temperature, or enzymatic activity), sustainable fabrication routes using renewable biopolymers, integration with advanced processing technologies such as 3D printing or microfluidics, and biorefinery approaches emphasizing their role in valorizing agro-industrial by-products into high-value functional materials. Hydrogels represent a promising platform at the interface of polymer science, food technology, and biotechnology, whose continued development will depend on multidisciplinary innovation aiming to meet consumer demands for sustainable, safe, and health-promoting food systems.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.