I am working on my undergrad research, which is about calcium alginate microparticles as drug delivery systems. I had a hard time preparing the solution because of the viscous nature of the alginate. So, I was wondering if I need to heat the solution when preparing an alginate solution?
Alginate has different molecular weight and viscosity. Depending on the concentration and the alginate you selected, heating is not necessary but if you want high concentration of high viscous alginate, you may need apply heat. However, after it cools down, you may have a gel-like solution, it is hard to prepare microparticles with such high concentration. High concentration of alginate is normally used to prepare hydrogel beads in calcium solution. For nano/micro- particles, the concentration is much lower.
Yes sir. Thanks. My first plan is to prepare 2%, 4% and 6% solutions. But i had a hard time in preparing the solution. That's why i reduced it to 1%, 2% and 3%. 3% is almost a gel in terms of its consistency. I had a hard time in suspending the drug in that concentration. So i am now planning to do 0.5%, 1% and 2% solutions. I am using a food grade - type of sodium alginate. And i am using calcium lactate solution as the crosslinking agent. I saw in the internet that i should add the sodium alginate in a well stirred water, and not adding water to the sodium alginate. Is that the protocol? Thanks
That's not a big concern, I think. It might be better to do that to dissolve the alginate a little bit quicker. I am using 3% alginate right now to do the hydrogel beads in a condensed calcium solution. I first dissolve the alginate in water (by adding to alginate), and that's fine and it take around 2 hours to get solublized. Previously, I used a high viscosity alginate, it is definitely impossible to dissolve it in water. Then I bought the alginate with low viscosity, it works now at 3% now. You may check your purchase of the alginate used, it normally has the information about viscosity on the package. Generally, three types: high viscous alginate, low viscous alginante, and very low viscous alginate. If there is no such information on its label/package, it may be the high viscous alginate.
Yes sir. I think it is a high viscous alginate. That is why it is so difficult to dissolve. Sir, may i ask where do you purchase your alginate?
Hi, Darwin,
We buy the high quality and pure alginates from Pronova (Novamatrix). You can buy them in different molecular weights and viscosities. For most applications we use very-low or low-viscosity products. Yes, it's better to add alginate into stirred water.
How much is the alginate there? I am an undergrad with no sufficient funding, so i think if it is expensive, i can't afford to buy it. Thanks!
You have to buy this by yourself? It is not expensive, should be around $20-30 for 100 gram.
Yes sir. But how about the rate for the courier service. I am from the philippines.
we normally purchase it from vwr.com, you may check the website to see if it has business in your country. The shipping is included in the price usually.
Sir, may i ask for some scientific journals regarding the formation of calcium alginate beads. Or any journal that explains the egg-box model structure of calcium alginate and its encapsulation activities. Thanks
what is the end point for complete dissolution of sodium alginate? how would i come to know that sodium alginate has completely dissolved?
Kimica Corporation has a nice video on sodium alginate dissolution. Find it here;
https://kimica-algin.com/alginate/usage/
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