Design and characterisation of polyhydroxyalkanoate bead-alginate hybrid materials : a dissertation presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science in Microbiology at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand. EMBARGOED until 31 March 2020

Abstract

Encapsulation is a technique to entrap a material of interest within a carrier material, and it has been used in a wide range of industries such as biopharmaceutical and biotechnological companies. Among biopolymers used for the carrier material, alginate has been widely used due to its attractive properties of biodegradability, biocompatibility and ease of gelation under mild conditions. In this study, a novel hybrid micro- or millisphere composed of functionalised polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) beads and alginate was fabricated through ionotropic gelation methods. This study has provided preliminary data for fabrication of a hybrid material of functionalised PHA beads with alginate. The development of combinations of highly functional PHA beads with other biomaterials is expected to expand the application field of PHA beads.--Shortened abstract