Abstract
Owing to their unique biological functions, hyaluronic acid (HA) and its derivatives have been explored extensively for biomedical applications such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, and molecular imaging. In particular, self-assembled HA nanoparticles (HA-NPs) have been used widely as target-specific and long-acting nanocarriers for the delivery of a wide range of therapeutic or diagnostic agents. Recently, it has been demonstrated that empty HA-NPs without bearing any therapeutic agent can be used therapeutically for the treatment of inflammatory diseases via modulating inflammatory responses. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of the significant achievements in this field and highlight the potential of HA-NPs for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Highlights
Polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) have received significant attention for healthcare applications since their enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effects in cancer were observed by Maeda and co-workers [1]
The half-lives of PNPs have been increased by reducing their removal rates, providing additional opportunities to pass through fenestrated vasculatures, and accumulate in diseased tissues through the EPR effect
Macrophages play a crucial role in modulating a wide range of infectious and inflammatory diseases, such as tuberculosis, atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and multiple sclerosis [84]
Summary
Polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) have received significant attention for healthcare applications since their enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effects in cancer were observed by Maeda and co-workers [1]. Use of microenvironment-responsive PNPs has emerged as a promising strategy for diagnostic and therapeutic delivery over the last decade [5,6] These PNPs can be triggered by endogenous stimuli in the diseased tissues, such as pH [7], enzymes [8], cellular traction forces [9], reactive oxygen species (ROS) [10,11], or glutathione [12]. The levels of CD44, Hyals, and OSs are highly related to the progression of many types of inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer [18], and traumatic brain injury [19] Because of these multifunctional benefits, HA has rapidly grown into one of the most popular biomaterials for targeted drug delivery and tissue engineering over the past two decades. Our general focus is on healthcare applications of HA-NPs for various inflammatory diseases
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