2025.08.08 Finalizing CMC Composition for MGS-1 Alginate Gel
Purpose
From 2025.08.06 Recalibrating CMC Composition for MGS-1 Alginate Gel, recreate the six best conditions with replicates to determine the most suitable MGS-1 alginate gel. This will be based on qualitatively observing the crosslinking and stiffness after submerging in calcium chloride, as well as compare to an earth sand alginate gel control
Materials & Methods
Materials
425 µm sieved MGS-1
3 wt% alginate solution
CMC
2 x 12-well plates
100 mM calcium chloride solution
spatula
10 mL syringe Methods
Add 2 mL alginate to a well in the 12-well plate
Add CMC and MGS-1, mix well
Add CMC and earth sand (for the same conditions as MGS-1)
Submerge in 100mM CaCl2 (~1 mL)
Wait 10min to see if crosslinking occurs
Create 4 replicates of each condition. Repeat for all other conditions
Leave overnight Table 1. Amount to weigh for CMC and MGS-1.
Condition
CMC (g)
MGS-1 (g)
2.5% CMC + 20% MGS-1
0.05
0.4
3.5% CMC + 20% MGS-1
0.07
0.4
2% CMC + 30% MGS-1
0.04
0.6
0.5% CMC + 40% MGS-1
0.01
0.8
2% CMC + 40% MGS-1
0.04
0.8
3.5% CMC + 40% MGS-1
0.07
0.8
Results
Figure 1. MGS-1 alginate gels before submerging in calcium chloride (left). Earth Sand alginate gel controls in calcium chloride (middle). MGS-1 alginate gles in calcium chloride (right).
Observations
all conditions are soft before crosslinking
increasing wt% in CMC led to softer gels
able to extrude through a syringe
control samples crosslinked quickly (surface was stiff after 10 minutes in calcium chloride)
all samples held better after 10 minutes in calcium chloride
Summary
At 10min of calcium chloride crosslinking, the order of greater stiffness/crosslinking is:
