A novel, low-cost hydrogel using a component found in seaweed may aid wound healing, according to new research in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.
The hydrogel was made using alginate, calcium carbonate, and carbonated water. Alginate is a biocompatible substance that can be extracted from beach-cast seaweed that does not adhere strongly to cells or skin tissues.
The hydrogel not only exhibited ideal pH and moisture conditions for wound recovery but also demonstrated significantly lower adhesion and swelling, compared to other commercial hydrogel wound dressings due to the special structure formed by alginate and calcium ions, in addition to the protective effect of the CO2 in carbonated water against acidification, the proposed hydrogel is not only inexpensive but also biodegradable, the researchers report.
The researchers tested the effectiveness of their new hydrogel using cell cultures and a mouse model. “Through animal experiments, we demonstrated that our hydrogel has a high therapeutic effect and at the same time can suppress the temporary expansion of the wound area caused by conventional clinical preparations,” says Ryota Teshima, a Master’s student at Tokyo University of Science in Japan in a news release. “This proves our initial hypothesis that gels with low skin adhesion and low-swelling properties are excellent as wound dressing materials, which is the complete opposite of conventional wisdom.”
