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Rheology and Thermotropic Gelation of Aqueous Sodium Alginate Solutions

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Abstract

In this work, we present the evaluation of the thermotropic gelling ability and steady-state rheology of aqueous sodium alginate (NaAlg) solutions. NaAlg is been considered due to its gelling capabilities and to determine its suitability as a film-forming agent with the potential capacity for immobilization of very potent, solid, and hydrophobic drugs. The existence of a thermally induced gelation of 1.0 to 2.5 wt.% sodium alginate solutions between 13°C to 22°C was demonstrated through three independent rheological tests: the constant-stress temperature-ramp viscosity, dynamic viscoelastic moduli, and thixotropy tests. Oscillatory dynamic tests also showed the thermoreversible nature of the NaAlg gels, but a large hysteresis between the gel formation and the gel melting was observed. The steady-state viscosity was experimentally determined as a function of shear rate for NaAlg concentrations between 1.0 to 2.5 wt.% and for temperatures from 20°C (or above Tgel) to 90°C. A viscosity master curve was constructed by applying time–temperature superposition and a semi-empirical shift factor for concentration. A power-law fluid model (\( \eta = k{{\dot{\gamma }}^n} \)) was adjusted to the data from 20°C to 60°C and found to provide good agreement with fitting parameters k = 4.81 and n = −0.449 ± 0.003.

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Acknowledgment

The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Science Foundation (Grant 0540855) for support of this research conducted through the Engineering Research Center for Structured Organic Particulate Systems (C-SOPS) at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. We thank Sindia Rivera for providing help with the TGA and Dr. Carlos Rinaldi for the use of the rheometer.

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  1. Center for Structured Organic Particulate Systems, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, PO Box 9000, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, 00681

    Vivian Florián-Algarín & Aldo Acevedo

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  1. Vivian Florián-Algarín
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  2. Aldo Acevedo
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Correspondence to Aldo Acevedo.

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Florián-Algarín, V., Acevedo, A. Rheology and Thermotropic Gelation of Aqueous Sodium Alginate Solutions. J Pharm Innov 5, 37–44 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12247-010-9078-y

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