Preparation and Evaluation of Calcium Alginate/Glycyrrhizic Acid Hydrogel

Calcium ions released from calcium-alginate hydrogel can promote inflammatory responses when injected subcutaneously in mice. In this study, a novel alginate hybrid hydrogel was prepared using sodium alginate (SA) and Glycyrrhizic acid (GA) design for reduce calcium concentration in the hydrogel. nanoCalcium carbonate was wrapped in an alginate solution and internal gelling was induced by the Ca2+ released from CaCO3 by adding of GA. As varying of the amounts of GA and CaCO3 in alginate solution, the gelling time could be controlled within 10 min. Taking advantage of short gelation time and controlled hydrogel shape, GA calcium alginate hydrogel system has great potential for tissue engineering applications.