Journal of Biotechnology & Biomaterials
Open Access

Research Article

Mechanical Properties of Hydrated Acoustically Sensitive Alginate-Based Microcapsules Confined in a Microfluidic Device as a Function of Size and Composition

¹Department of Bioengineering, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA, USA

²U-systems, A GE Healthcare Company, Sunnyvale, CA, USA

³Biomedical, Chemical and Materials Engineering, San Jose State University, CA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Dr. Maryam Mobed-Miremadi
Department of Bioengineering
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA 95053-0583, USA
Tel: 408-554-2731
E-mail: mmobedmiremadi@scu.edu

Received date: October 18, 2013; Accepted date: November 27, 2013; Published date: December 03, 2013

Citation: Mobed-Miremadi M, Keralapura M, Fong T, Camba R (2013) Mechanical Properties of Hydrated Acoustically Sensitive Alginate-Based Microcapsules Confined in a Microfluidic Device as a Function of Size and Composition. J Biotechnol Biomater 3:161. doi:10.4172/2155-952X.1000161

Copyright: © 2013 Mobed-Miremadi M, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Understanding the mechanical properties of alginate-based microcapsules according to size and chemical composition allows researchers to zero in on the treatment and methods required to engineer optimized implantable alginate-based artificial cells for chemotherapy. Cross-linked medium viscosity alginate capsules ranging from 1.1% (w/v)-1.8% (w/v) in composition and 200 μm-1200 μm in size, encapsulating ultrasound contrast agents and blue dextran were compressed within a 40 μm high polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic device and subsequently examined using 2D microscopy for strain deformation aimed at the calculation of poisson ratios and volume loss postcompression. Results indicate a decrease in Poisson ratio as a function of alginate concentration, with statistically significant increases in Poisson ratios and percent volume loss as a function of size and composition. For an average of 120 s observation time post compression, in light of the volume loss correlated to the number of cross-links as a function of capsule size and alginate concentration, a strong case for the dominance of poroelasticity vs. viscoelasticity can be made. While there was a decrease in mean Poisson ratio as a function of concentration, at 1.8% (w/v) the mean strain value converged to 0.5, the theoretical ideal isotropic value associated with soft biological tissue.

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