Ionically cross-linked carrageenan-alginate hydrogel beads

Abstract

Hydrogel beads based on the carbohydrate biopolymers kappa-carrageenan and sodium alginate were newly prepared. Both classical and experimental design (Taguchi) methods were used to obtain the optimum conditions for the full-polysaccharide hydrogel preparation. The carrageenan-alginate (Caralgi) beads exhibited a surface morphology smoother than that of the one-polysaccharide network beads. Infrared spectroscopy and DSC/TGA thermal methods were used to study the chemical structure and thermal properties of the beads. The carrageenan parts appreciably enhanced thermostability of the networks. The fully carbohydrate-based hydrogel beads are expected to be biologically compatible and degradable. They are being considered as new carriers for drug loading and controlled delivery systems.

Marine algae sulfated polysaccharides for tissue engineering and drug delivery approaches

“…In addition, the combination of two different families of carrageenans has also been tested, for instance on the production of microscale fibers 53 . Hydrogel systems based on carrageenan and other materials from natural algae origin, namely alginate, have been developed into different formats (beads/fibers); 52 , 54 , 55 fibers resulting from wet-spinning carrageenan into chitosan or vice versa are also possible, including together with carbon nanotubes to improve significantly their mechanical properties, in which active ingredients can be trapped; 56 chitosan/carrageenan/tripolyphosphate nanoparticles exhibiting small size and high positive charge have been produced by polyelectrolyte complexation/ionic gelation; 57 Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles with κ-carrageenan 58 , 59 and spheres of carrageenans crosslinked by paramagnetic ions (Ho 3+ ) 60 have also been developed.…”

Caffeine: A novel green precursor for synthesis of magnetic CoFe2O4 nanoparticles and pH-sensitive magnetic alginate beads for drug delivery

“…Recently, biopolymers have attracted extensively more consideration as raw materials for the preparation of hydrogels owing to their notable properties like biocompatibility, biodegradability, environmental sensitivity, non-toxicity and etc [1][2][3]. Hydrogels provide a hydrophilic medium in the polymeric network that readily absorbs biological fluids or water without dissolving in [4,5]. Hydrogels sometimes may absorb from10 to 20% (an arbitrary lower limit) up to thousands of times of their dry weight in water.…”

Design andIn VitroEvaluation of a New Nano-Microparticulate System for Enhanced Aqueous-Phase Solubility of Curcumin

“…Conversely, for formulations containing carrageenan (30%–50%, F2 and F3), the gelation process took place more slowly depending on the carrageenan content in each formulation, leading to the formation of less spherical matrices compared with the microparticles based on alginate alone (Figures 1(b) and 1(c)). This may be attributed to the different ionotropic gelation mechanisms proposed for alginate and carrageenan [33]. Alginate is commonly crosslinked with Ca 2+ by ionic inter-chain bonding, while potassium interacts with carrageenan creating only an intermolecular glue-like effect through the electrostatic attraction with the sulfate ester groups of carrageenan.…”

“…The ability of alginate to form hydrogels is attributed to the capacity of its guluronic acid residues to bind with multivalent cations such as Ca 2+ through ionic interactions [32, 33]. The alginate-based hydrogel networks have been found very efficient in entrapment and controlled delivery of a variety of ingredients including drugs, proteins, bacteria, enzymes, and cells [34–36].…”

“…According to the number and position of sulfate groups, carrageenans are classified as kappa ( κ ), iota ( γ ), alpha ( α ), beta ( β ), lambda ( λ ), and theta ( θ ) [33]. Carrageenan is commonly used in food products as a thickening and stabilizing agent, and it has been recently introduced to pharmaceutical formulations for controlled release purposes due to its gelling ability [37–39].…”