Preparation of Sodium Alginate Hydrogel Microparticles by Electrospinning Using Various Types of Salts

Abstract

Sodium alginate (SA) hydrogel microparticles were simply obtained by using electrospinning method at diverse processing parameters such as polymer concentration, applied voltage, tip to collector distance (TCD), and type and amount of divalent cations (crosslinking and gelation agents). In the case of TCD, there is no significant on the morphological shape of SA hydrogel microparticle. On the contrary, the particle size was decreased with an increase in the applied voltage. But at a high applied voltage, the polydispersity of SA hydrogel microparticle was increased and broad range of particle sizes was observed. Nearly monodisperse microparticles were prepared at applied voltage of 10kV. We also obtained SA hydrogel microparticles by the exchange of sodium ions with divalent cations such as Sr²⁺ and Ba²⁺, which presented uniform spherical shape, in comparison with that prepared using Ca²⁺.