Comparative assessment of growth supporting potential of different alginic acid salts

This study compares the cell survival of HeLa, osteoblasts (MG 63), and human umbilical cord stem cells (hUMSCs) in three different salts of alginic acid including sodium, potassium, and triethanolamine. While the treatment of the cells with wide range of concentrations of potassium and triethanolamine alginate did not adversely affect the cell growth, higher concentrations of sodium alginate inhibited cell growth on all the cell types tested. Furthermore, the cells encapsulated in potassium alginate beads showed enhanced cell survival compared to the growth in other salts. Our results indicated that potassium alginate can be used with wide varieties of cell types.