Q: What is a Hydrogel?
A hydrogel, according to Merriam-Webster Dictonary, is a gel composed usually of one or more polymers suspended in water. In this project, the gel is used in a biomedical application: controlled released of medicine in the human body. There are various types of gels that can be used, but the group has selected to use Alginate.
Q: What is Alginate?
Alginate is an general term used to describe a family of polysaccharides which are synthesized by the interaction of bacteria with brown algae, a type of seaweed. It is important to note that this is both a polysaccharide and a polymer. It is one of the most versatile and useful of these gels because of its properties such as immunogenicity and high gel porosity, thus, making it an ideal base for the hydrogel.
Q: What properties of Alginate control the release rate of therapeutic capsules?
Pore size of hydrogel, ratio of volume to surface, size of therapeutics/medicine, and temperature. These are physical properties that are considered when adjusting an Alginate hydrogel for medical applications.
Sources:
- "Hydrogel." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
- Matricardi, Pietro, Franco Alhaique, and Tommasina Coviello. "Alginate Hydrogels: Properties and Applications." Polysaccharide Hydrogels: Characterization and Biomedical Applications. Boca Raton: Pan Stanford Pte., 2016. 449-50. Print.
