Porous carriers for biomedical applications based on alginate hydrogels

• Published in: Biomaterials Vol. 21; no. 19; pp. 1921 - 1927
• Main Authors: Eiselt, Petra, Yeh, Julia, Latvala, Rachel K, Shea, Lonnie D, Mooney, David J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2000; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Alginate; Alginates - chemistry; Biocompatible Materials; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical Engineering; Drug Carriers; Drug Design; Gas-foaming process; Gases; Glucuronic Acid; Hexuronic Acids; Hydrogels; Medical sciences; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Molecular Weight; Porosity; Porous beads; Porous materials; Scaffolds; Surface active agents; Surface Properties; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Technology. Biomaterials. Equipments; Tissue; Gas-foaming process; Alginate; Porous beads; Scaffolds; Rat; Rodentia; Void fraction; Alginates; Surfactant; Molecular weight; Gases; Implanted material; Vertebrata; Microporosity; Mammalia; Foaming process; Animal; Hydrogel; Vector; Biomedical engineering; Structural analysis
• ISSN: 0142-9612; 1878-5905
• DOI: 10.1016/S0142-9612(00)00033-8

Macroporous scaffolds are typically utilized in tissue engineering applications to allow for the migration of cells throughout the scaffold and integration of the engineered tissue with the surrounding host tissue. A method to form macroporous beads with an interconnected pore structure from alginate has been developed by incorporating gas pockets within alginate beads, stabilizing the gas bubbles with surfactants, and subsequently removing the gas. Macroporous scaffolds could be formed from alginate with different average molecular weights (5–200 kDa) and various surfactants. The gross morphology, amount of interconnected pores, and total void volume was investigated both qualitatively and quantitatively. Importantly, macroporous alginate beads supported cell invasion in vitro and in vivo.