Fluorescence microscope observation of the structure of a calcium alginate hydrogel

Abstract Calcium alginate hydrogels are used in a wide range of applications in the food, medical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. I have studied a calcium alginate hydrogel as an ultrasound phantom material. This hydrogel is formed using sodium alginate, calcium sulfate dihydrate, trisodium phosphate 12-hydrate, glycerol, and water, and mimics the ultrasound properties of human soft tissue. In this study, the structure of the calcium alginate hydrogel was observed with a fluorescence microscope after staining with the calcium indicator calcein. Two types of hydrogel structures, tape-like and thread-like, were observed by this method. The thread-like structures were rare in the hydrogel, which made them more difficult to find than the tape-like structures. These structures were several micrometers in diameter and longer than the tape-like structures, which were several micrometers to several tens of micrometers wide. The thread-like structures spread out in three dimensions, and existed singly or in aggregates. The outer shape of the aggregated thread-like structures resembled the shape of the tape-like structures, which suggested that the tape-like structures were made up of thread-like structures. The tape-like and thread-like structures are thought to contribute to retention of water, which is the main component of a hydrogel, by surrounding it.