You're probably already familiar with alginate, since it is found in many foods, including ice cream, pudding, salad dressing, and fruit juices. It is used as a stabilizer, thickener, emulsifier, and gelling agent. Alginate is a common immobilization material for cell culture. Mechanical testing provides insight into the mechanical environment of the embedded cells.
Mechanical signals are a proposed mechanism to regulate cartilage biosynthesis.
Ideally, alginate gel should provide a similar mechanical environment to cartilage. The material testing is performed on a rheometer. This particular displacement-controlled rheometer allows simultaneous measurement of torque and normal force. The dual transducers and torsional and axial displacements allow determination of compressive and shear properties . Viscoelastic Behavior of Alginate Alginate gel is a viscoelastic material, which means its behavior response to loading depends on time and rate.