Hyaluronic acid or HA is a linear polysaccharide of high-molecular weight. With certain exceptional qualities such as the vicso-elasticity, perfect water-binding and other biological properties, Hyaluronic acid is extensively used for drug delivery in various biomedical procedures. Usage of Hyaluronic acid HA also adds improved attributes to various existing formulations while offering numerous opportunities during the development of new formulations.

Basically, certain polymeric substances are used for drug delivery and targeting; but, using HA for such processes provides certain advantages over these traditional polymeric substances and the synthetic polymers such as Poly lactic acid and Poly ethylene glycol. Some of the major advantages of Hyaluronic acid HA in the drug delivery are outlined below.

– HA offers a comparatively higher flexibility during the controlled drug release and designing
– It adds better stability to the existing drug formulations
– It contributes for an effective drug targeting at the target site
– It enhances the biocompatibility and bioavailability of drugs
– HA also reduces the drug cytotoxicity

Why it is used for Drug delivery?
Typically, HA is composed of alternating monosaccharide units of beta-1, 3-N-acetyl glucosamine and disaccharide units of beta-1, 4-glucuronic acid. It occurs in body naturally and is found in tissues of animals and humans. In addition, HA is also abundantly ubiquitous in the extracellular matrix in soft connective tissues and in the synovial fluids of various articular joints. HA acts as an active carrier in drug delivery applications due to its significant and unique rheologic, morphological and physiological functions. And also, it is a polyanionic polymer that has the capability to form complexes with drugs and bring a natural stabilization in drug formulations. Even, the relatively simple chemical structure of HA allows it to create an array of possible and modified drug delivery carriers.

In addition, the versatility of HA is another reason for its active actions as an attractive drug delivery candidate. Other reasons for using HA for drug delivery can be its biological advantages such as the anti-inflammatory properties and its capability to neutralise free radicals.

HA as various Carriers in Drug delivery process:
As HA can be modified and formulated into almost any form, there can be a number of carriers formed by simple modification of HA. HA can be modified into a Nanocarrier, Micelles, Hydrogels and Cross-linked HA molecules, Implants, Powders/mini-pellets, Sponges, Films and Conjugates.

HA in Drug delivery process:
In drug delivery process, HA can be administrated by ocular, dermal, subcutaneous, intra-articular and intravenous routes and also through other local routes of drug administration. The administration route is chosen based on the nature of the drug.

The process of drug delivery starts with the co-linking of HA with the drug. For example, if the drug is sodium butyrate, a natural tumour cell growth inhibitor compound, then it is co-valently linked with HA. This drug carrier has a natural ability to bind to the CDD4 receptor frequently found on the membranes of the tumour cells in human body. After the binding of the drug-HA complex to the membrane receptor, the drug sodium butyrate acts upon the tumour cells and inhibits their growth.

Creating better drug delivery systems:
Through certain unique processes and approaches, researchers have used the cross-linking and derivatization technologies in order to create a compatible delivery system for tough drug formulations. In addition, they are developing a new range of active drug delivery systems and formulations. One such formulation is the Recombumin, a commercially available animal-free recombinant human albumin drug and vaccine excipient. Recombumin has a number of benefits just as the albumin and it dynamically participates in critical drug manufacturing as an active ingredient. Apart from that, it is also used in clinical development processes.

Author Bio: Jenny Hall writes enthusiastically about everything science and pharmaceuticals. She is actually considered a professional on scientific areas such as human recombinant albumin (ralbumin) and the roles of hyaluronic acid in manufacturing devices. Please go to http://www.biopharma.novozymes.com for more details on hyaluronic acid (HA) uses in science.

Category: Medical Business
Keywords: science,hyaluronic acid,HA,medical devices,biopharma,drug delivery