Mechanical Properties of Spherical Alginate Hydrogels

Hydrogel beads can be used as a method of drug delivery for humans. More specifically, the beads can contain bacteriophage that act as an antibiotic when released to help cure various medical issues. Studying the mechanical properties of these beads can help determine which type of bead is best for drug delivery, since typically digestion in the stomach lasts about 5 hours, then food remains in the intestines for up to 48 hours. Ideally, the bacteriophage would be released between the 6 and 48 hour time points after ingestion to avoid damage to the bacteriophage. The objective of this research is to study the behavior of calcium chloride and barium chloride beads cross-linked for different amounts of time while in lambda buffer solution. From the data collected, the best bead option(s) for bacteriophage release can be determined.