Chapter 13 - Hyaluronic acid in drug delivery applications

Abstract

Hyaluronic acid (HA), a natural polysaccharide with good biocompatibility and biodegradability, is pivotal for many cellular and tissue functions and has been in clinical use for decades. Based upon other characteristics such as water-binding ability, viscoelastic properties, and nonimmunogenicity, HA turns to be an ideal candidate for several medical and pharmaceutical applications. It not only serves as a cross-linking agent among other nanocomposite drug delivery systems but also can form self-assembling systems as an amphiphilic molecule. Besides, it can be modified by grafting, cross-linking, linking with hydrophobic substances and drugs, or through polyion complex formation with oppositely charged proteins, polysaccharides, or surfactants. HA and its derivatives can be further employed as sustained-release carriers for drugs, which can postpone the release of drugs and have a long-acting effect. They can be used for the delivery of various drugs such as proteins/peptides, nucleic acids, and antitumor drugs. This chapter is aimed to provide recent updates on HA research, with an emphasis on the outstanding physicochemical properties of HA derivatives and their applications in drug delivery systems. This chapter also displays a foresight into the magnitude of HA application in the progress of targeted drug vectors and innovative trials of drug delivery systems.