Alginate-based hydrogels are being produced worldwide for a broad spectrum of biotechnological applications, from biomedicine to agriculture. In particular, nanosized alginate-based particles have emerged as promising platforms mainly for drug delivery applications. In view of their size they can be delivered in a minimally invasive manner, and being structurally similar to the extracellular matrix of many tissues they freely diffuse to the target cells. The mild conditions of the sol-gel process are intrinsically adapted for the development of applications that require the inclusion of bio-entities during synthesis. However, one of the limitations of these systems is the fast gelling rate that hinders an adequate inclusion of bioactive molecules in nano-size hydrogel systems. In this work, we present a literature review and explore the classical theoretical work on sol-gel chemistry of alginates to discuss the range of conditions in which alginate sol-gel processes can be controlled, aiming at nanogel preparation.

基于海藻酸盐的水凝胶正在世界范围内生产，用于广泛的生物技术应用，从生物医学到农业。特别是，纳米尺寸的藻酸盐基颗粒已成为主要用于药物递送应用的有前途的平台。鉴于它们的大小，它们可以以微创方式递送，并且在结构上与许多组织的细胞外基质相似，它们自由地扩散到靶细胞。溶胶-凝胶工艺的温和条件本质上适用于需要在合成过程中包含生物实体的应用程序的开发。然而，这些系统的局限性之一是凝胶速度快，这阻碍了在纳米尺寸水凝胶系统中充分包含生物活性分子。在这项工作中，