Alginate Hydrogels with Tuneable Properties

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Alginate is a material that has many biomedical applications due to its low toxicity and a variety of favourable physical properties. In particular, the ease in which hydrogels are formed from alginate and the variety of mechanical behaviours that can be imparted on the hydrogels, by understanding alginate chemistry and intuitive design, has made alginate the most widely investigated polysaccharide used for tissue engineering. This chapter provides an overview of alginate, from how the source and natural variations in composition can influence mechanical properties of alginate hydrogels, through to some innovative techniques used to modify and functionalise the hydrogels designed specifically for cell-based therapies. The main focus is on how these strategies of understanding and controlling the chemistry of alginates have resulted in the development of hydrogels that can be tuned to deliver the physical behaviours required for successful application. This will also highlight how research on the physicochemical properties has helped alginate evolve from a structural polysaccharide in brown seaweed into a highly tuneable, multifunctional, smart biomaterial, which is likely to find further biomedical applications in the future.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationTunable Hydrogels
Subtitle of host publicationSmart Materials for Biomedical Applications
EditorsAntonina Lavrentieva, Iliyana Pepelanova, Dror Seliktar
PublisherSpringer
Pages37-61
Number of pages25
Volume178
ISBN (Electronic)9783030767693
ISBN (Print)9783030767686
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2021

Publication series

NameAdvances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology
PublisherSpringer
Volume178
ISSN (Print)0724-6145
ISSN (Electronic)1616-8542

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