Sodium alginate is a sustainable polymer that gels on contact with calcium ions. Alginate is a polysaccharide composed of two monomers: α-L-guluronate (G) and β-Dmannuronate (M). The aim of this thesis is to investigate the impact of monomer type and cation environment on alginate behaviour. Molecular dynamics was used to investigate the effects of these factors on alginate trimers in solution. G trimers formed more buckled structures than M, as evidenced by the 5-8 % increase in end-to-end distances. These values decreased in systems with calcium ions by as much as 3 %. In systems with calcium ions, mixing of G and M trimers resulted in a 550 % increase in trimer clustering compared to pure G or M systems, as shown by the number and size of clusters that formed. To extend this work, the G:M ratio and cation environment were examined experimentally. A design of experiments study investigated the effects of different curing conditions on calcium alginate gel strength. Introduction of excess sodium ions had a significant (p
| Date of Award | 27 Feb 2026 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - University Of Strathclyde
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| Sponsors | University of Strathclyde |
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| Supervisor | Karen Johnston (Supervisor), Paul Mulheran (Supervisor) & Miguel Jorge (Supervisor) |
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