Characterization of alginate hydrogels for 3D cell culture application.

Calcium Alginate hydrogel possesses a great potential as three-dimensional culture platform, exhibiting structural similarities with extracellular matrix. There have been various studies to characterize Alginate hydrogel and its dependence to external factors, yet it is still not completely understood. This project attempts to quantify mechanical and biological properties of Calcium Alginate as a 3D matrix for cells encapsulation. Physical and mechanical properties of Calcium Alginate are investigated and how alginate concentration affects its properties are determined. Alginate interaction with proteins was studied with a simple protein release experiment. It was found that Alginate hydrogel has high encapsulation efficiency. It reaches steady state quickly, and is able to retain over 77% of the incorporated protein, leaving enough protein needed by the cultured cells. Strain sweep tests have demonstrated the effect of Alginate concentration on the overall mechanical strength. It is consistent with the literatures that the hydrogel becomes stiffer as more Alginate is used in gelation. Furthermore, increasing Alginate concentration intensifies the elastic properties of Alginate hydrogels. While the viscous properties are more noticeable at lower Alginate concentration, elastic properties are becoming more apparent as Alginate concentration increases. Thermal properties of Alginate hydrogel was investigated using temperature sweep analysis. It was found that the material was able to withstand the heat effect in moderate temperature, ranging from 25⁰ to 41⁰ C. At higher temperature, the matrix lost its water content, resulting in a much stiffer structure which may not be feasible for cells. Experimental results indicate Calcium Alginate hydrogel to be a suitable material for cell culture scaffolds. It has good efficiency in retaining incorporated protein, which is very important for the cultured cells. It also showed good thermal stability, especially in the range of working temperature for cell culture. And lastly, it is highly customizable, allowing it to cater to a wide range of cell types.Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering