Paper Title
Physical and Biological Properties of Alginate-Agarose Thin Membranes for Tissue Engineering Applications

Abstract
Monolayer tissue culture has played a crucial role in recent tissue engineering applications, serving as a covering for organs or as a wound dressing. In this study, a substrate in the form of a thin membrane for animal cell culture was developed using alginate (Al), agarose (Ag), gelatin, and glycerol as the main materials with Ca2+ ion crosslinking. Ag was added to reduce the degradation of the alginate membrane.The variation of the ratio of alginate to agarose from 1.5 to 2% (w/v) and 0.25 to 1% (w/v) was used to prepared the membranes while keeping gelatin and glycerol at 1% (w/v). Decreasing the agarose content decreased tensile strength from 6 to 3 MPa, but had no effect on elongation except for a reduction in the alginate ratio. Decreasing the Al/Ag ratio reduced membrane thickness. Weight loss was around 2-8% with no significant differences in the Al/Ag ratio. The membrane was found to a be non-toxic substrate using the L929 cell line and cell proliferation study. L929 cells on the membranes were confirmed their proliferation using fluorescence microscopy and SEM images. This study demonstrates the potential of the Al/Ag membranes for cell culture in future tissue engineering applications. Keywords - Alginate, Agarose, Cells, Membrane, Tissue Engineering.