Ions-induced gelation of alginate: Mechanisms and applications
Abstract
Alginate is an important natural biopolymer and has been widely used in the food, biomedical, and chemical industries. Ca 2+ -induced gelation is one of the most important functional properties of alginate. The gelation mechanism is well-known as egg-box model, which has been intensively studied in the last five decades. Alginate also forms gels with many other monovalent, divalent or trivalent cations, and their gelation can possess different mechanisms from that of Ca 2+ -induced gelation. The resulted gels also exhibit different properties that lead to various applications. This study is proposed to summarize the gelation mechanisms of alginate induced by different cations, mainly including H + , Ca 2+ , Ba 2+ , Cu 2+ , Sr 2+ , Zn 2+ , Fe 2+ , Mn 2+ , Al 3+ , and Fe 3+ . The mechanism of H + -induced gelation of alginate mainly depends on the protonation of carboxyl groups. Divalent ions-induced gelation of alginate show different selection towards G, M, and GM blocks. Trivalent ions can bind to carboxyl groups of uronates with no selection. The properties and applications of these ionotropic alginate gels are also discussed. The knowledge gained in this study would provide useful information for the practical applications of alginate.
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The relative ratio of M and G blocks significantly affects gel strength, degradation rate, and hydrogel stability, which are key considerations in anti-adhesion barrier design.
“The relative ratio of M and G blocks significantly affects gel strength, degradation rate, and hydrogel stability—key considerations in anti-adhesion barrier design [182].”
From Biomaterials in Postoperative Adhesion Barriers and Uterine Tissue Engineering (2025) · cites this paper as [182]
Cites
Alginate Formulations: Current Developments in the Race for Hydrogel-Based Cardiac Regeneration
Cattelan, G., Guerrero Gerbolés, A., Foresti, R., Pramstaller, P. P., Rossini, A., Miragoli, M., & Caffarra Malvezzi, C. (2020) · Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology · doi:10.3389/fbioe.2020.00414 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Nourmohammadi, N., Soleimanian‐Zad, S., & Shekarchizadeh, H. (2020) · Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture · doi:10.1002/jsfa.10576 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
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Development of alginate-based hydrogels: Crosslinking strategies and biomedical applications
Tan, J., Luo, Y., Guo, Y., Zhou, Y., Liao, X., Li, D., Lai, X., & Liu, Y. (2023) · International Journal of Biological Macromolecules · doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2023.124275 · Cited by 308 · see citing works
Biomaterials in Postoperative Adhesion Barriers and Uterine Tissue Engineering
Fazel Anvari-Yazdi, A., Badea, I., & Chen, X. (2025) · Gels · doi:10.3390/gels11060441 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Song, H.-L., Wang, Y.-Q., Zhang, Q., Liu, Y., Zhang, L.-D., Yan, J.-N., Lai, B., Wang, C., & Wu, H.-T. (2025) · International Journal of Biological Macromolecules · doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.148037 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hu, C., Lu, W., Mata, A., Nishinari, K., & Fang, Y.
- Affiliations
- Hubei University of Technology (CN)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Fang, Yapeng
- Venue
- International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-04
- Volume
- 177
- Pages
- 578-588
- ISSN
- 0141-8130 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3133038783
- Cited by
- 600
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 137 · 2025: 143 · 2024: 161 · 2023: 88 · 2022: 52 · 2021: 19
- FWCI
- 7.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Polysaccharides Composition and Applications
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Medicine › Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Polysaccharides and Plant Cell Walls
- Keywords
- alginate, egg-box model, calcium-induced gelation, divalent cations, trivalent cations, ionotropic gels
- MeSH terms
- Alginates, Cations, Hydrogen, Metals, Uronic Acids, Hydrogels
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