Alginate-Based Biomaterials in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

• Published in: Marine drugs Vol. 21; no. 3; p. 189
• Main Authors: Farshidfar, Nima, Iravani, Siavash, Varma, Rajender S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.03.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Algae; alginate; Alginates; Alginates - therapeutic use; Alginic acid; Anions; Aqueous solutions; Biocompatibility; Biocompatible Materials - therapeutic use; Biodegradability; Biodegradable materials; Biodegradation; Biomaterials; Biomedical materials; Calcium ions; Cancer; Cations; Cell adhesion & migration; Chemical bonds; Chemical properties; Divalent cations; Drug delivery; Equipment and supplies; FDA approval; Hydrogels; Hydrogen bonding; Medicine; Methods; Molecular weight; Nanomaterials; Organic solvents; Polyelectrolytes; Polyethylene glycol; Polymers; Regenerative Medicine; Review; scaffolds; Seaweed meal; Seaweeds; Stem cells; Sustainability; Sustainable use; Tissue Engineering; Toxicity; Viscosity; Wound healing; Iran; alginate; tissue engineering; scaffolds; biomedical engineering; regenerative medicine; hydrogels; biomaterials
• ISSN: 1660-3397; 1660-3397
• DOI: 10.3390/md21030189

Today, with the salient advancements of modern and smart technologies related to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TE-RM), the use of sustainable and biodegradable materials with biocompatibility and cost-effective advantages have been investigated more than before. Alginate as a naturally occurring anionic polymer can be obtained from brown seaweed to develop a wide variety of composites for TE, drug delivery, wound healing, and cancer therapy. This sustainable and renewable biomaterial displays several fascinating properties such as high biocompatibility, low toxicity, cost-effectiveness, and mild gelation by inserting divalent cations (e.g., Ca ). In this context, challenges still exist in relation to the low solubility and high viscosity of high-molecular weight alginate, high density of intra- and inter-molecular hydrogen bonding, polyelectrolyte nature of the aqueous solution, and a lack of suitable organic solvents. Herein, TE-RM applications of alginate-based materials are deliberated, focusing on current trends, important challenges, and future prospects.