Alginate as Promising Natural Polymer for Pharmaceutical, Food, and Biomedical Applications

Abstract

: Alginates are biopolymers usually obtained from brown seaweed, brown algae (Ochrophyta, Phaeophyceae), and bacteria (Azatobacter vineland and Pseudomonas species) belonging to the family of polycationic copolymers. They are biocompatible, biodegradable, non-antigenic, and non-toxic biopolymer with molecular mass ranges from 32,000-40,000 g/mol in commercial grades. These can be used as edible films or coatings in food industries and also some natural or chemical additives could be incorporated into them to modify their functional, mechanical, nutritional as well as organoleptic properties. Due to their high viscosity and extraordinary shear-thinning effect, they can be used as dietary fibers, thickening, gelling and stabilizing agents. Commercial alginates have vast applications in the fields of biomedical engineering, biotechnology, environmental contaminants treatments, food processing, and pharmaceuticals. Alginates can be used in wound dressings, bone regeneration, neovascularization, protein delivery, cell delivery, theranostic agents, oral drug delivery, controlled release systems, raft formulations, immobilization of biological agents and treatment of environmental contaminants. Various carrier systems can be formulated by the use of alginates like hydrogel, tablets, microcapsules, films, matrices, microspheres, liposomes, nanoparticles, beads, cochleate, floating and supersaturated drug delivery systems. This review presents a broad range of promising applications of alginates and it can be a great interest to scientists and industries engaged in exploring its hidden potential.

Brown Seaweed Sargassum siliquosum as an Intervention for Diet-Induced Obesity in Male Wistar Rats

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Electrospun Medicated Nanofibers for Wound Healing: Review

“…The antibacterial mechanism of ZnO was explored through in vitro antibacterial tests, and the healing results of burn wounds in rats indicated that the dressing has a certain burn treatment effect ( Figure 5 D). Other natural polymer materials commonly used for electrospinning wound dressings include alginate [ 109 ], collagen and cellulose.…”

Electrospun Structural Hybrids of Acyclovir-Polyacrylonitrile at Acyclovir for Modifying Drug Release

“…Excipients, particularly polymeric excipients, have played a fundamental role in the modification of drug release profiles over the past half a century [50][51][52]. For example, hydrophilic polymers and hydrophobic polymers greatly support the development of fastrelease and sustained-release profiles [53][54][55], respectively. Certainly, these polymers need a suitable technique to encapsulate the drug molecules that they contain.…”