Alginate

One example of a natural polymer used to prepare a hydrogel is alginate. This natural polymer comes from the polysaccharide family and can be extracted from the cell walls of brown seaweeds like Macrocystis sp⁴. Alginate is the most abundant marine biopolymer and is one of the most abundant polymers in the world. The alginate molecules are responsible for the flexibility and strength of the plant because of this the plant is able to survive in the sea. The most common form of alginate used is sodium alginate which can be prepared using the following process⁵.