Alginates - A Seaweed Product: Its Properties and Applications

Reddy, S. Giridhar

doi:10.5772/intechopen.98831

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…Figure 11 depicts the chemical structure of M and G monomer blocks, and the various combinations of M and G blocks can produce at least 200 distinct alginates [137]. Alginates are commonly utilized in the food industry as a thickener, gellin and colloidal stabilizer [138]. Also, alginates are used to develop food coatings b ing with divalent cations, especially calcium (Ca 2+ ) ions, to generate water-insolu ymers [139].…”

Section: Alginatementioning

confidence: 99%

Structure, Properties, and Recent Developments in Polysaccharide- and Aliphatic Polyester-Based Packaging—A Review

Marasinghe,

Jayathunge,

Dassanayake

et al. 2024

J. Compos. Sci.

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Food packaging plays an imperative role in the food processing sector by safeguarding foods from their point of harvesting until the moment of consumption. In recent years, biopolymers have attracted the attention of the scientific community as an alternative to conventional packaging materials. Among the available biopolymer sources, a lot of the focus has been on polysaccharides due to their superior barrier properties against gases, oils, and odors and their processing versatility. Moreover, there is also a growing interest in aliphatic polyester as a potential replacement for petrochemical-based synthetic plastics. Both polysaccharides and aliphatic polyesters have gained popularity in sustainable food packaging due to their unique characteristics, including their low cost, availability, biodegradability, gas and moisture barrier properties, film-forming capabilities, excellent heat resistance, and ability to be processed into films, trays, and coatings. This review highlights the structural features, properties, and recent advancements of several vital polysaccharides, namely, starch, chitosan, cellulose, alginate, pectin, carrageenan, and aliphatic polyesters, including polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) for developing packaging materials, and their applications in the food industry. Conventional packaging and future perspectives of biopolymer-based food packaging are also comprehensively covered in this review.

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Section: Alginatementioning

confidence: 99%

Structure, Properties, and Recent Developments in Polysaccharide- and Aliphatic Polyester-Based Packaging—A Review

Marasinghe,

Jayathunge,

Dassanayake

et al. 2024

J. Compos. Sci.

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“…The molecular backbone of alginate, however, was only described decades later, after the work of Fisher and Dörfel in 1955 [3], and the structural analyses of alginate have been an extensive field of research ever since due to the immense variability of M/G content and sequential organization found throughout the years in many macroalgae [4,5]. The structural variability presented by this polymer and the ability to form gels with different physicochemical properties is nowadays reflected in its many biotechnological uses in the food sector, cosmetic industry, wastewater treatment, pharmaceutical, and biomedical applications, among others [6][7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial Alginate Biosynthesis and Metabolism

Serrato¹

2024

Biochemistry

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Alginate is a linear anionic heteropolysaccharide with a chemical structure consisting of 1,4-linked subunits of β-D-mannuronic acid (M) and its C-5 epimer α-L-guluronic acid (G). It is well known that the monomer composition and molecular weight of alginates affect their properties and influence their use in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Alginate is usually extracted from seaweed for commercial purposes, but can also be produced by bacteria as exopolysaccharide (EPS). Pseudomonas spp. and Azotobacter vinelandii are well-known alginate-producing microorganisms. Their biochemical machinery for alginate biosynthesis is influenced by changing culture conditions and manipulating genes/proteins, making it relatively easy to obtain customized EPS with different molecular weights, M/G compositions, and thus physicochemical properties. Although these two genera have very similar biosynthetic pathways and molecular mechanisms for alginate production, with most of the genes involved being virtually identical, their regulation has been shown to be somewhat different. In this chapter, we present the main steps of alginate biosynthesis in bacteria, including precursor synthesis, polymerization, periplasmic modifications, transport/secretion, and post-secretion modification.

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“…Marine brown algae, which is under the class of Phaeophyceae, is the natural source of this polyanionic hetero-polysaccharide polymer [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. It is generally derived from three main species, including Macrocystis pyrifera , Laminaria digitata , and Laminaria saccharina [ 5 , 6 ]. Alginate is an unbranched copolymer that consists of two monomers, including a β-(1→4)-linked D-mannuronic acid (M block) and an α-(1→4)-linked L-guluronic acid (G block), as stated by Azad et al [ 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alginate-Based Encapsulation Fabrication Technique for Drug Delivery: An Updated Review of Particle Type, Formulation Technique, Pharmaceutical Ingredient, and Targeted Delivery System

Lai,

Azad,

Sulaiman

et al. 2024

Pharmaceutics

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Alginate is a natural biopolymer widely studied for pharmaceutical applications due to its biocompatibility, low toxicity, and mild gelation abilities. This review summarizes recent advances in alginate-based encapsulation systems for targeted drug delivery. Alginate formulations like microparticles, nanoparticles, microgels, and composites fabricated by methods including ionic gelation, emulsification, spray drying, and freeze drying enable tailored drug loading, enhanced stability, and sustained release kinetics. Alginate microspheres prepared by spray drying or ionic gelation provide gastric protection and colon-targeted release of orally delivered drugs. Alginate nanoparticles exhibit enhanced cellular uptake and tumor-targeting capabilities through the enhanced permeation and retention effect. Crosslinked alginate microgels allow high drug loading and controlled release profiles. Composite alginate gels with cellulose, chitosan, or inorganic nanomaterials display improved mechanical properties, mucoadhesion, and tunable release kinetics. Alginate-based wound dressings containing antimicrobial nanoparticles promote healing of burns and chronic wounds through sustained topical delivery. Although alginate is well-established as a pharmaceutical excipient, more extensive in vivo testing is needed to assess clinical safety and efficacy of emerging formulations prior to human trials. Future opportunities include engineered systems combining stimuli-responsiveness, active targeting, and diagnostic capabilities. In summary, this review discusses recent advances in alginate encapsulation techniques for oral, transdermal, and intravenous delivery, with an emphasis on approaches enabling targeted and sustained drug release for enhanced therapeutic outcomes.

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Alginates - A Seaweed Product: Its Properties and Applications

Cited by 10 publications

References 70 publications

Structure, Properties, and Recent Developments in Polysaccharide- and Aliphatic Polyester-Based Packaging—A Review

Structure, Properties, and Recent Developments in Polysaccharide- and Aliphatic Polyester-Based Packaging—A Review

Bacterial Alginate Biosynthesis and Metabolism

Alginate-Based Encapsulation Fabrication Technique for Drug Delivery: An Updated Review of Particle Type, Formulation Technique, Pharmaceutical Ingredient, and Targeted Delivery System

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