In recent years the method of immobilization of living cells in Ca-alginate beads has gained a wide range of applications. In all cases high chemical stability of the immobilization material and mild conditions for the cells are prerequisites. However, in long-term experiments that may last for several days Ca-alginate may dissolve due to an exchange of Ca2+ with Na+, forming fluid Na-alginate. As well as Ca-alginate, the more chemically stable Sr-alginate and Ba-alginate are materials that have been used for the immobilization of living cells. In this study, the effects of Ca2+, Sr2+ and Ba2+ on growth, viability and intracellular free calcium concentration in a human leukemic T cell line (Jurkat) were investigated. The findings in this study, and the fact that Sr-alginate has a considerably higher chemical stability than Ca-alginate, led to the conclusion that Sr-alginate is a more suitable material for use in the entrapment of living cells in long-term studies.