Application of Rare Earth Metal Cations for Crosslinking Alginate Hydrogels for Biomedical Purposes
摘要
The possibility of using rare earth metal cations (Y3+, La3+, Nd3+, and Sm3+) as gel-forming agents for sodium alginate to obtain hydrogels for biomedical purposes was investigated. It was found that hydrogel microspheres based on rare earth metal ions have a denser crosslinking and are more stable to the leaching of the crosslinking agent upon repeated washing in physiological saline compared to microspheres based on barium alginate. However, hydrogel microspheres crosslinked with rare earth metal cations gradually degrade in blood serum and Hank’s solution due to the presence of sodium bicarbonate in these media. It was also established that gel-forming solutions of rare earth metal salts [SmCl3, Nd(AcO)3, LaCl3, and YCl3] at concentrations up to 20 mmol/L do not exhibit critical cytotoxic effects on cell culture.