Abstract

SODIUM ALGINATE: A PROMISING NATURAL POLYSACCHARIDE

Ruchi Gaikwad* and Sarika Shrivastava

ABSTRACT

Alginates are natural derived biomaterials having various properties and applications for drug delivery. Here sodium alginate is also known as “gummy worm” polymer. Which is a natural polysaccharide and hydrophilic in nature grown in cold water regions. It is obtained from extracted product of kelp and brown seaweed, soluble in hot water when agitate it thickens and bind and less soluble in cold water. Alginic acid and the calcium, sodium salts are mainly non-toxic, biocompatible. By incorporating calcium the Alginate produces gel without any heat. Therefore it is widely used with calcium salts to produce spheres of round or oval shape with liquid inside that burst in the mouth. Hence sodium alginate is used as a hydrogel in drug delivery. Therefore it is widely used as a biopolymer in variety of applications as a polymer matrix. Alginate is used in food industry to increase the viscosity and as also used as an emulsifier. Alginate is used in indigestion tablets and it has no perceptible flavor. This review gives an emphasis in alginate properties and various types of application including new perspectives in drug delivery.

Keywords: Alginates, biomaterial, drug delivery, biopolymer, hydrogel, natural polysaccharides.