Calcium sulfate microparticle size modification for improved alginate hydrogel fabrication and its application in 3D cell culture

IF 2.5 4区材料科学 Q3 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Frontiers of Materials Science Pub Date : 2025-02-27 DOI:10.1007/s11706-025-0713-4

Joo Ho Kim, Siddharth Iyer, Christian Tessman, Shashank Vummidi Lakshman, Heemin Kang, Luo Gu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Calcium ion-crosslinked alginate hydrogels are widely used as a materials system for investigating cell behavior in 3D environments in vitro. Suspensions of calcium sulfate particles are often used as the source of Ca²⁺ to control the rate of gelation. However, the instability of calcium sulfate suspensions can increase chances of reduced homogeneity of the resulting gel and requires researcher’s proficiency. Here, we show that ball-milled calcium sulfate microparticles (MPs) with smaller sizes can create more stable crosslinker suspensions than unprocessed or simply autoclaved calcium sulfate particles. In particular, 15 µm ball-milled calcium sulfate MPs result in gels that are more homogeneous with a balanced gelation rate, which facilitates fabrication of gels with consistent mechanical properties and reliable performance for 3D cell culture. Overall, these MPs represent an improved method for alginate hydrogel fabrication that can increase experimental reliability and quality for 3D cell culture.

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来源期刊

Frontiers of Materials Science MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY-

CiteScore

4.20

自引率

3.70%

发文量

515

期刊介绍： Frontiers of Materials Science is a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes high quality reviews/mini-reviews, full-length research papers, and short Communications recording the latest pioneering studies on all aspects of materials science. It aims at providing a forum to promote communication and exchange between scientists in the worldwide materials science community. The subjects are seen from international and interdisciplinary perspectives covering areas including (but not limited to): Biomaterials including biomimetics and biomineralization; Nano materials; Polymers and composites; New metallic materials; Advanced ceramics; Materials modeling and computation; Frontier materials synthesis and characterization; Novel methods for materials manufacturing; Materials performance; Materials applications in energy, information and biotechnology.