@article {18292,
	title = {Novel non-cytotoxic alginate{\textendash}lignin hybrid aerogels as scaffolds for tissue engineering},
	journal = {The Journal of Supercritical Fluids},
	volume = {105},
	year = {2015},
	month = {2015-01-08 00:00:00},
	pages = {1-8},
	publisher = {Elsevier},
	abstract = {<p>This paper presents a novel approach towards the production of hybrid alginate-lignin aerogels. The key idea of the approach is to employ pressurized carbon dioxide for gelation. Exposure of alginate and lignin solution containing calcium carbonate to CO<sub>2</sub> at 4.5\&nbsp;MPa resulted in a hydrogel formation. Various lignin and CaCO<sub>3</sub> concentrations were studied. Stable hydrogels can be formed up to 2:1 (w/w) alginate-to-lignin ratio. Upon substitution of water with ethanol, gels were dried in supercritical CO<sub>2</sub> to produce aerogels. Aerogels were characterized in terms of bulk density, specific surface area and pore volume. To introduce macroporosity, the CO<sub>2</sub> induced gelation was supplemented with rapid depressurization (foaming process). Porosity, mean pore size and interconnectivity in the macroporous range were assessed by micro-CT. Young{\textquoteright}s modulus of alginate-lignin aerogels was measured in both dry and wet state. Cell studies revealed that alginate-lignin aerogels are non-cytotoxic and demonstrate good cell adhesion properties making them attractive candidates for a wide range of applications including tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.</p>},
	keywords = {ALGINATE, Biomaterials, lignin, scaffolds, supercritical, Tissue engineering},
	doi = {10.1016/j.supflu.2014.12.026},
	url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896844615000133},
	author = {Quraishi, S. and Martins, M. and Barros, A. A. and GuriKov, P. and Raman, S. P. and Smirnova, I. and Duarte, A. R. C. and Reis, R. L.}
}
