sodium alginate

Overview

Sodium alginate is a naturally derived anionic polysaccharide obtained from brown algae and widely used in biomedical, pharmaceutical, and food applications because of its gel-forming, mucoadhesive, and biocompatible properties. In aqueous systems, it can form hydrogels and ionically crosslinked networks, especially in the presence of calcium or other multivalent ions, making it useful for encapsulation, controlled release, wound dressings, tissue engineering scaffolds, and edible films.

Biologically, sodium alginate is generally valued less as a direct pharmacologic agent than as a functional material that shapes drug delivery, mechanical stability, and local microenvironment. Recent research has used it in combination with chitosan, gelatin, pectin, carrageenan, hyaluronic acid, collagen-derived materials, and bioactive cargos such as curcumin, resveratrol, selenium nanoparticles, and miR-497. Across these studies, sodium alginate served as a structural matrix, stabilizer, coating, or coacervate component to improve delivery performance, protect labile payloads, and support wound healing, intestinal targeting, antimicrobial preservation, and other biomedical functions.

Focus of Latest Publications

Recent publications portray sodium alginate as a versatile platform material in both therapeutic and food-related bioengineering systems. In wound healing research, it was incorporated into cationized gelatin/sodium alginate coacervates for topical delivery of miR-497 in diabetic wound healing, where the alginate-containing platform was used to encapsulate and deliver the microRNA in a way intended to support anti-inflammatory activity. Sodium alginate also appeared in multiple hydrogel and dressing systems for skin repair, including a mucoadhesive nanofibrous nasal patch, a 3D-printable collagen-mimetic peptide/sodium alginate hydrogel for full-thickness skin defects, and pig skin-derived reconstituted lipid nanoparticle-loaded sodium alginate hydrogel dressings. These studies collectively emphasize sodium alginate’s role in forming biocompatible matrices that can support local delivery, structural integrity, and wound-compatible handling.

Several studies focused on sodium alginate as a component of intestinal-targeted or orally administered delivery systems. One report examined alkaline dissociation behavior of anionic polysaccharides, including sodium alginate, to regulate nano-coassembly with soy β-conglycinin for intestinal-targeted delivery. Another study used dual-crosslinked polysaccharide microspheres based on glycated collagen and sodium alginate/chitosan for curcumin delivery in ulcerative colitis treatment, with calcium-mediated gelation contributing to the hydrogel network. Sodium alginate was also used in orally administrable microspheres coating genetically engineered Escherichia coli Nissle 1917, and in probiotic microencapsulation with crosslinked lotus seed starch to protect Lactiplantibacillus plantarum during digestion. In these contexts, sodium alginate functioned as a protective, pH-responsive, and release-controlling matrix.

In nanomedicine and anticancer research, sodium alginate was used to functionalize selenium nanoparticles loaded with trans-resveratrol, with the stated aim of improving stability, mitochondrial targeting, and anticancer efficacy against HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Related work also used sodium alginate in hydrogel beads encapsulating curcumin-selenium nanoparticles for antioxidant, antimicrobial, and edible oil preservation applications. These studies suggest that sodium alginate is being used to stabilize nanoscale carriers and modulate release of bioactive compounds such as resveratrol, curcumin, and selenium-based systems.

Food science and preservation studies also prominently featured sodium alginate. It was used in composite edible casings with chitosan and tea polyphenols for dry-cured sausages, in sodium alginate-based composite gel beads encapsulating algal oil emulsions to improve DHA bioaccessibility and reduce fishy odor, and in sodium alginate films incorporating Pickering emulsions for sustained release of cinnamon essential oil and preservation of fresh produce. Another study used sodium alginate in carboxymethyl chitosan-sodium alginate Pickering emulsions and composite coatings for strawberry preservation, while a separate work developed sodium alginate/guar gum scaffolds loaded with Ficus carica extract for wound-healing-oriented 3D printing. In these applications, sodium alginate served as a film-forming, encapsulating, and barrier-enhancing polymer.

Mechanical reinforcement and hydrogel engineering were recurring themes. Sodium alginate was combined with soy protein amyloid fibrils to build compact hydrogel networks with improved mechanical performance, and with soy protein in other hydrogel systems. It was also used in a multifunctional hemostatic hydrogel with chitosan and gelatin, and in a responsive hyaluronic acid-based hydrogel designed for sequential drug release and diabetic wound healing, where sodium alginate methacryloyl contributed to the network architecture. In a separate solar evaporator study, sodium alginate formed the gel matrix supporting carbonized Chinese herbal medicine residues, demonstrating its utility as a scalable and cost-effective hydrogel scaffold beyond drug delivery.

Across the cited studies, sodium alginate consistently functioned as a biocompatible structural polymer that enabled ionic crosslinking, mucoadhesion, encapsulation, and controlled release. Its pairing with calcium ions, chitosan, carrageenan, pectin, gelatin, collagen-like Peptides, and other biomaterials reflects its central role in designing delivery systems for wound healing, intestinal targeting, antimicrobial preservation, and functional food applications. The related entities apixaban, curcumin, resveratrol, selenium nanoparticles, VEGFA, oxidative stress, interleukin-6, and Interleukin 1 beta appear in these research contexts as cargos, mechanistic endpoints, or disease-relevant pathways rather than as direct targets of sodium alginate itself.

Key Publications

• Jun Polyacrylamide hybridized double networks with polysaccharides and zinc oxide nanoparticles as a Novel approach for removing animal glue stain from paper manuscripts. (Scientific reports, 2026, PMID 42297993): "this study developed a novel hybrid double network hydrogel (HDNH) consisting of synthetic polymer (Polyacrylamide), natural polymers (Agarose or sodium alginate), and Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) for removing animal glue stains from paper manuscripts."
• Jun Sodium alginate modified by dopamine multifunctional injectable hydrogel with photothermal, antibacterial, and hemostatic properties for accelerating infected wound repair. (Carbohydrate polymers, 2026, PMID 42002312): "Sodium alginate (SA)-based wound dressings have attracted increasing attention for wound management."
• Jun Epigallocatechin gallate-loaded alginate-peanut protein hydrogel beads: Influence of pectin-based crosslinking and chitosan-based coating strategies. (Carbohydrate polymers, 2026, PMID 42002352): "In this study, composite hydrogel beads were fabricated using sodium alginate (SA) and peanut protein isolate (PPI) as the primary matrix materials,"
• Jun Bioinspired apixaban nanosuspension-loaded polymeric microneedle arrays for non-invasive transdermal delivery: a skin-friendly patch. (European journal of pharmaceutics and biopharmaceutics : official journal of Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Pharmazeutische Verfahrenstechnik e.V, 2026, PMID 41861921): "...using sodium alginate (SA) and pectin polymers, to enhance its bioavailability and improve patient compliance."
• Jun Microencapsulation of probiotics using crosslinked lotus seed starch and alginate: protection and structural evolution during digestion. (Food chemistry, 2026, PMID 41916228): "This study prepared microcapsules with low/medium/high-crosslinked lotus seed crosslinked resistant starch (LS-2/6/12CS) and sodium alginate (SA), evaluating their protection on Lactiplantibacillus plantarum ACCC 11095 and structural changes."
• Jun Controllable alkaline dissociation of anionic polysaccharides governs nano-coassembly with soy β-conglycinin: a rational design for intestinal-targeted delivery systems. (Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.), 2026, PMID 41942223): "This study innovatively proposed that the controllable alkaline dissociation characteristics of anionic polysaccharides (sodium alginate (SA), κ-carrageenan (CS), pectin (PE)) were the core to regulate the structure and function of soy β-conglycinin (7S)-polysaccharide nanocomposites via a green pH-shift method."
• Jun Alginate-based mucoadhesive nanofibrous system embedding resveratrol-loaded vesicles as a therapeutic platform for nasal disorders. (International journal of biological macromolecules, 2026, PMID 42092661): "In this study, a mucoadhesive nanofibrous nasal patch based on sodium alginate and poly(ethylene oxide) embedding RSV-loaded phospholipid vesicles was developed using a green electrospinning process based entirely on aqueous solvents."
• Jun Sodium alginate functionalized biocompatible selenium nanocarriers loaded trans-resveratrol for mitochondrial targeted HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma inhibition study. (Nanomedicine (London, England), 2026, PMID 42165412): "To investigate the use of sodium alginate (SA) for functionalization of selenium nanoparticles (SA@Se NPs) in developing biocompatible nanocarrier to enhance stability, mitochondrial targeting and anticancer efficacy of trans-resveratrol (TRV)."
• Jun Compact hydrogels network structures reinforced by soy protein amyloid fibrils and sodium alginate. (Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.), 2026, PMID 41895961): "we constructed a soy protein‐sodium alginate (SA) hydrogel exhibited enhanced mechanical performance through compression molding."
• May Tannic acid one-step induced carboxymethyl chitosan‑sodium alginate-Pickering emulsions multifunctional composite coatings for efficient preservation of strawberries. (Food chemistry, 2026, PMID 41865516): "A multifunctional packaging for strawberries, composed of carboxymethyl chitosan, sodium alginate, tannic acid, and tea tree oil, effectively delays deterioration."