PubMed · 7994152
The wound dressings in C V Laboratories' Kaltostat range are composed of calcium sodium alginate. By managing the physical aspects of wounds, they also reduce the associated psychological distress.
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C Williams. Kaltostat.. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.1994.3.18.965
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Parameters affecting the characteristics of the drug loaded crosslinked sodium alginate matrix films and the release of metoclopramide hydrochloride and cisapride from these matrices were studied. It was shown that the release rate is influenced by the crosslinking technique of the matrix film, crosslinker type and concentration, drug physico-chemical properties especially solubility and the molecular weight, acidity of the release medium, concentration and the loaded quantity of the drug in the matrix. The crosslinking process of the matrix film was shown to be an interfacial phenomenon and the nature of crosslinking depends on the crosslinker type and concentration. This work also showed that crosslinked alginate in a matrix form has limitation in practical use due to the effect of acidic medium on the crosslinking of the matrix film and hence, the rate of drug release.
The collagens produced by chick embryo chondrocytes cultured in alginate beads were investigated both biochemically and ultrastructurally. The cartilage phenotype is maintained for at least 14 days, as indicated by the production of the cartilage-specific collagens II, IX, and XI and the absence of collagen I. There were differences in the distributions of collagens among the three different compartments analyzed (cells and their associated matrix, further-removed matrix (released by alginate solubilization), and culture medium), with large amounts of collagen IX (mainly in proteoglycan form) in the culture medium. Inhibition of lysyl oxidase activity by beta-aminopropionitrile led to an overall decrease in collagen production. In contrast to the biochemical observations, collagen ultrastructure in the extracellular matrix of alginate cultures was not in the form of the expected 64-nm banded fibrils, but rather in the form of segment-long-spacing-like crystallites. This abnormal structure is likely to be a result of alginate disrupting normal assembly. We conclude that, in this system, the native fibrillar structure of the collagenous matrix is not essential for the maintenance of the differentiated phenotype of chondrocytes.
With the aim of producing a biomaterial for surgical applications, the alginate-hyaluronate association has been investigated. Crossed techniques were used to assess the existence of polymer interactions in aqueous solutions up to 20 mg/ml. Alginate was obtained from algae and hyaluronate was purified from rooster comb. Viscometry measurements using the capillary technique or the Couette flow, together with circular dichroism investigations, evidenced the moderate significance of interactions between the two polysaccharides in dilute solutions. In addition, the case of more concentrated solutions and containing 20 mg/ml alginate was approached by rheological measurements in the flow mode; the behaviour of the polymer associations appeared as a compromise between those of individual polysaccharides.