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Updated: Jul 1, 2026

Generation of Alginate Microspheres for Biomedical Applications
Published on: August 12, 2012
Diffusion of Oligonucleotides from within Iron-Cross-Linked, Polyelectrolyte-Modified Alginate Beads: A Model System
Vladimir Privman1, Sergii Domanskyi2, Roberto A S Luz3,4
1Department of Physics, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, 13676, USA. privman@clarkson.edu.
Abstract:
An analytical model to describe diffusion of oligonucleotides from stable hydrogel beads is developed and experimentally verified. The synthesized alginate beads are Fe(3+) -cross-linked and polyelectrolyte-doped for uniformity and stability at physiological pH. Data on diffusion of oligonucleotides from inside the beads provide physical insights into the volume nature of the immobilization of a fraction of oligonucleotides due to polyelectrolyte cross-linking, that is, the absence of a surface-layer barrier in this case. Furthermore, the results suggest a new simple approach to measuring the diffusion coefficient of mobile oligonucleotide molecules inside hydrogels. The considered alginate beads provide a model for a well-defined component in drug-release systems and for the oligonucleotide-release transduction steps in drug-delivering and biocomputing applications. This is illustrated by destabilizing the beads with citrate, which induces full oligonucleotide release with nondiffusional kinetics.
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