Novel solvent-based method for preparation of alginate beads with improved roundness and predictable size |
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Authors: | A. Buthe W. Hartmeier |
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Affiliation: | Department of Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, D-52056 Aachen, Germany |
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Abstract: | Attempts to determine conditions or processes within alginate gel beads often suffer from inaccuracies due to an improper roundness of the analysed beads. Therefore, a novel solvent-based method for the preparation of alginate beads with improved shape was developed: An aqueous solution of 2% (w/v) alginate in water was injected into a solvent layering consisting of hexane, n-butanol, n-butanol with 1% (w/v) CaCl2 and finally 2% (w/v) CaCl2 in water. Beads of up to 3.5?mm in diameter obtained with this method had a roundness which was ~5% better than comparable beads prepared by dropping an alginate solution into a CaCl2-hardening bath. This was determined by a software supported quantitative analysis of bead size and shape. Additionally, the novel solvent-based method allows for highly reproducible preparation of alginate beads with exactly predictable sizes. The biggest beads obtained with this method were 9?mm in diameter. Thus, with the solvent-based preparation of alginate beads it is now possible to easily obtain beads of exactly the type needed for a specific analytical purpose. |
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Keywords: | Alginate bead bead shape roundness image analysis size control |
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