Hydrogel microspheres for the treatment of tumours

Abstract

Embolic materials for the treatment of hypervasularised tumours are often non-degradable hydrogels. In this thesis alginate hydrogel microspheres were synthesised and tested as a potential biodegradable embolic agent. Degradation and compressibility were shown in vitro to be dependent on the mannuronic acid to L-guluronic acid ratio, which was attributed to the affinity of calcium to bind to the different alginate monomers. The microspheres were shown to be deliverable and compatible with non-ionic radiopaque contrast media.

Date of Award	Jun 2009
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Brighton