Seven commercially available alginate wound dressings with different polymer, fiber, and nonwoven structures were characterized in this study. The performances of these dressings were compared in terms of their absorbency capacities, gel swelling ratios in water and normal saline, wicking of fluid, and dry and wet strengths. Results show that the absorbency and swelling ratios were strongly affected by the guluronate and mannuronate contents of the alginate, the calcium and sodium contents of the fibers, and the nonwoven structures of the dressing. The different types of alginate wound dressings also had significantly different dry and wet strength. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.