Preparation and characterization of alginate beads reinforced with silica nanoparticles for microbial cell culture

Silica-alginate nanocomposites were prepared by reinforcing the alginate beads with silica nanoparticles andused in the microbial cell culture systems. Nonporous silica nanoparticles (NSNs) and mesoporous silica nanoparticles(MSNs) were prepared and then amine-functionalized. The prepared particles were characterized with SEM, TEM, BETand zeta potential analysis. Different concentration of all the unfunctionalized and amine-functionalized silica particleswere utilized to incorporate in the prepared alginate beads. Mechanical stiffness of the prepared beads were investigatedand the Young's modulus values were calculated. DH5α cell was entrapped in the above-prepared beads and their growthwere studied. In addition, the toxicity of the silica particles on the growth of the cells were studied. Our result indicatethat Young's modulus values of the alginate beads reinforced with all the silica particles were significantly improvedcompared to the alginate beads without any silica nanoparticles. As a best result, Young's modulus value of the alginatebeads reinforced with amine-functionalized MSNs is approximately 4.5 folds higher than that for the alginate beads

کلیدواژه ها:

Silica-alginate nanocomposite ، silica nanoparticles ، Young's modulus ، encapsulation