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Relevance of Rheological Properties of Sodium Alginate in Solution to Calcium Alginate Gel Properties

  • Research Article
  • Theme: Advances in Pharmaceutical Excipients Research and Use: Novel Materials, Functionalities and Testing
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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine whether sodium alginate solutions’ rheological parameters are meaningful relative to sodium alginate’s use in the formulation of calcium alginate gels. Calcium alginate gels were prepared from six different grades of sodium alginate (FMC Biopolymer), one of which was available in ten batches. Cylindrical gel samples were prepared from each of the gels and subjected to compression to fracture on an Instron Universal Testing Machine, equipped with a 1-kN load cell, at a cross-head speed of 120 mm/min. Among the grades with similar % G, (grades 1, 3, and 4), there is a significant correlation between deformation work (L E) and apparent viscosity (η app). However, the results for the partial correlation analysis for all six grades of sodium alginate show that L E is significantly correlated with % G, but not with the rheological properties of the sodium alginate solutions. Studies of the ten batches of one grade of sodium alginate show that η app of their solutions did not correlate with L E while tan δ was significantly, but minimally, correlated to L E. These results suggest that other factors—polydispersity and the randomness of guluronic acid sequencing—are likely to influence the mechanical properties of the resultant gels. In summary, the rheological properties of solutions for different grades of sodium alginate are not indicative of the resultant gel properties. Inter-batch differences in the rheological behavior for one specific grade of sodium alginate were insufficient to predict the corresponding calcium alginate gel’s mechanical properties.

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Notes

  1. The number of moles of sodium alginate monomers (n monomer) can be calculated as m alginate/(198 g/mole).

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank Dr. Brian Carlin (FMC Biopolymer, Princeton, NJ) for providing the various grades and batches of sodium alginate used in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15282, USA

    Shao Fu, Ankur Thacker, Riccardo L. Boni, Ira S. Buckner & Lawrence H. Block

  2. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 66047, USA

    Diana M. Sperger

  3. Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213, USA

    Sachin Velankar

  4. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, USA

    Eric J. Munson

Authors
  1. Shao Fu
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  2. Ankur Thacker
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  3. Diana M. Sperger
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  4. Riccardo L. Boni
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  5. Ira S. Buckner
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  6. Sachin Velankar
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  7. Eric J. Munson
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  8. Lawrence H. Block
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Correspondence to Lawrence H. Block.

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Guest Editors: Otilia Koo, Thomas Farrell, Allison Radwick, and Sameer Late

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Fu, S., Thacker, A., Sperger, D.M. et al. Relevance of Rheological Properties of Sodium Alginate in Solution to Calcium Alginate Gel Properties. AAPS PharmSciTech 12, 453–460 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1208/s12249-011-9587-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1208/s12249-011-9587-0

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