The effect of elevating extracellular CaCl: Important considerations for tissue engineering applications.

Polysaccharides such as sodium alginate, pectin and gellan gum are widely used biomaterials, for their ability to easily form hydrogels in the presence of divalent metal ions, such as calcium - a process often cited as a mild crosslinking mechanism. However, when using these materials as substrates for tissue engineering, there is a lack of extensive studies that investigate the impact of elevated calcium concentrations on cell health and behaviour. In this study, we performed an in-depth exploration to understand the potential effects of raising extracellular CaCl on cell viability, proliferation, morphology and migration.