Gels

Gels

Gels (/dʒɛlz/; from the French gelée, meaning 'jelly') are a type of semi-solid, jelly-like substance that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state.

Etymology

The term gel comes from the French word gelée, which means 'jelly' or 'frozen'. It was first used in the 19th century to describe substances that had a jelly-like consistency.

Types of Gels

There are several types of gels, including:

• Hydrogel: A network of polymer chains that are hydrophilic, sometimes found as a colloidal gel in which water is the dispersion medium.
• Organogel: A non-crystalline, non-glassy thermoreversible (thermoplastic) solid material composed of a liquid organic phase entrapped in a three-dimensionally cross-linked network.
• Xerogel: A solid formed from a Gel by drying with unhindered shrinkage.

Uses of Gels

Gels have a wide range of uses in various fields, including:

• Medicine: Gels are often used in medicine for drug delivery, wound treatment, and tissue engineering.
• Cosmetics: Gels are commonly used in cosmetic products, such as hair gel, shower gel, and gel nail polish.
• Food Industry: Gels are used in the food industry in products like jelly, jam, and certain types of desserts.

Related Terms

• Colloid: A mixture in which one substance of microscopically dispersed insoluble particles is suspended throughout another substance.
• Polymer: A large molecule, or macromolecule, composed of many repeated subunits, which can form a gel when cross-linked.
• Cross-linking: The process of bonding or the linkage between the polymer chains in a gel.

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