Title
In-situ formation of poly(acrylamide) within calcium alginate beads for improved stability
Authors
S. K. BAJPAI and N. KIRAR

Received May 7, 2015
Published Volume 51 Issue 1-2 January-February
Keywords alginate, in-situ polymerization, water uptake, riboflavin release

Abstract
In the present work, the stability of calcium alginate beads has been remarkably improved by a novel strategy consisting of in-situ formation of poly(acrylamide) within the calcium ions crosslinked sodium alginate beads. The resulting beads have been found to be stable for more than 48 h, in physiological fluid (PF) of pH 7.4, while the plain alginate beads disintegrated within a couple of hours. The water uptake behavior of the beads was investigated under various composition parameters, such as amount of alginate, concentration of ionic crosslinker Ca++ ions, monomer acrylamide (AAm) contents and degree of crosslinking. The beads also exhibited fair stability in media of varying pH. Finally, the release of the model drug riboflavin from the beads was also investigated.