Novel solvent-based method for preparation of alginate beads with improved roundness and predictable size

Attempts to determine conditions or processes within alginate gel beads often suffer from inaccuracies due to an improper roundness of the analysed beads. Therefore, a novel solvent-based method for the preparation of alginate beads with improved shape was developed: An aqueous solution of 2% (w/v) alginate in water was injected into a solvent layering consisting of hexane, n-butanol, n-butanol with 1% (w/v) CaCl2 and finally 2% (w/v) CaCl2 in water. Beads of up to 3.5 mm in diameter obtained with this method had a roundness which was approximately 5% better than comparable beads prepared by dropping an alginate solution into a CaCl2-hardening bath. This was determined by a software supported quantitative analysis of bead size and shape. Additionally, the novel solvent-based method allows for highly reproducible preparation of alginate beads with exactly predictable sizes. The biggest beads obtained with this method were 9 mm in diameter. Thus, with the solvent-based preparation of alginate beads it is now possible to easily obtain beads of exactly the type needed for a specific analytical purpose.