Journal
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
Volume 148, Issue -, Pages 45-51Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.04.047
Keywords
Freeze-thaw; Induce; Alginate gel; Gel properties
Categories
Funding
- Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD)
- Qing Lan Project
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Adding divalent ions or lowering pH below the pK(a) values of alginate monomers are common ways in preparing alginate gels. Herein a new way of preparing alginate gels using freeze-thaw technique is described. Solvent crystallization during freezing drove the polymers to associate into certain structures that became the junction zones of hydrogels after thawing. It enabled the preparation of alginate gels at pH 4.0 and 3.5, two pH at which the gel could not be formed previously. At pH 3.0 where alginate gel could be formed initially, applying freeze-thaw treatment increased the gel storage modulus almost 100 times. The formation of hydrogels and the resulting gel properties, such as dynamic moduli and gel syneresis were influenced by the pH values, number of freeze-thaw cycles, alginate concentrations, and ionic strengths. The obtained hydrogels were soft and demonstrated a melting behavior upon storage, which may find novel applications in the biomedical industry. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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