Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Alginate

In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Book

Alginate

Alec Jost et al.

Excerpt

Alginates are a family of compounds that naturally occur in the cell wall and extracellular matrix of various species of brown seaweed, often comprising up to 40% of the plant’s biomass. Some species of bacteria have also been found to produce alginates, including the commonly infectious Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Alginates see extensive use in the cosmetics, food, and biomedical industries due to their physical properties and inherent biocompatibility.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Alec Jost declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Amit Sapra declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. May TB, Shinabarger D, Maharaj R, Kato J, Chu L, DeVault JD, Roychoudhury S, Zielinski NA, Berry A, Rothmel RK. Alginate synthesis by Pseudomonas aeruginosa: a key pathogenic factor in chronic pulmonary infections of cystic fibrosis patients. Clin Microbiol Rev. 1991 Apr;4(2):191-206. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Darrabie MD, Kendall WF, Opara EC. Effect of alginate composition and gelling cation on microbead swelling. J Microencapsul. 2006 Sep;23(6):613-21. - PubMed
    1. Montanucci P, Terenzi S, Santi C, Pennoni I, Bini V, Pescara T, Basta G, Calafiore R. Insights in Behavior of Variably Formulated Alginate-Based Microcapsules for Cell Transplantation. Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015:965804. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ehrhart F, Mettler E, Böse T, Weber MM, Vásquez JA, Zimmermann H. Biocompatible coating of encapsulated cells using ionotropic gelation. PLoS One. 2013;8(9):e73498. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tønnesen HH, Karlsen J. Alginate in drug delivery systems. Drug Dev Ind Pharm. 2002 Jul;28(6):621-30. - PubMed

Publication types