Engineering of Natural Polymeric Gels and Aerogels for Multifunctional Applications

Professor Sabu Thomas is currently an Emeritus Professor of Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India. He was the former Vice Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University. He is a Senior Professor of Christ University, Bangalore, India. He is also a visiting Professor at the Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, and an Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Polymer and Process Engineering, IIT Roorkee, India. He is the Chairman of the TrEST Research Park, Trivandrum, Kerala, India. The H index of Professor Thomas is 163 and he has more than 133,000 citationsDr. Bastien Seantier is a chemical physicist working in the field of material sciences, currently as associate professor at the Institute of Research Dupuy De Lôme, University of South Britany, Lorient, France. With a background in materials science and polymer chemistry, he completed his PhD in chemical physics for macromolecular imprinting on lipid bilayers at the Institute Charles Sadron, Strasbourg, France, in 2004. Dr. Seantier’s current research deals with designing new polysaccharide aerogels for multifunctional applications. Starting from cellulose nanofibers extracted from several natural resources, he aims to develop biomaterials for various applications, such as thermal insulation, biomedical applications, bio-sensors, filtration, and biocomposites. These materials are now designed with various polysaccharide bioresources and processes as environmentally friendly as possible, like freeze-drying or spray freeze-drying. The aim is to control and tune the structure and morphology of the aerogels to specific applications. Blessy Joseph is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. She earned degrees in Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering from the University of Kerala, India, including a master’s focused on Molecular Medicine. She later pursued her PhDin the same field at Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala, India. Her research focuses on nanotechnology, drug delivery systems, biomaterials, and polymer nanocomposites for tissue engineering.

• 1. Introduction to Polymeric Aerogels2. Physical Processes to Obtain Gels and Hydrogels from Natural Polymers3. Chemical Processes to Obtain Gels and Hydrogels from Natural Polymers4. Green Processes to Obtain Gels and Hydrogels from Natural Polymers5. Processes to Obtain Aerogels from Natural Polymers6. Natural Polymer Gels, Hydrogels and Aerogels for Biomedical Applications7. Natural Polymer Gels, Hydrogels and Aerogels for Absorbent Applications8. Natural Polymer Gels, Hydrogels and Aerogels for Energy Saving Applications9. Natural Polymer Gels, Hydrogels and Aerogels for Filtration Applications10. Natural Polymer Gels, Hydrogels and Aerogels for Sensing Applications11. Natural polymers, Silica and Carbon-based Aerogels: Catalytic Applications in Fine Chemical Synthesis. An Overview12. Green processes to obtain seaweed polysaccharides based functional hydrogel & aerogel membranes for potential health and separation applications13. Preparation and applications of aerogels-energy storage applications14. Preparation and applications of aerogels-energy storage applications15. Gels, hydrogels, and aerogels for absorbent applications16. Synthesis and characterization of biopolymer aerogels for biomedical applications17. Natural Composite Gels, Hydrogels, and Aerogels for Sensing Applications