Role of Hyaluronic Acids and Potential as Regenerative Biomaterials in Wound Healing

• Published in: ACS applied bio materials Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 311 - 324
• Main Authors: Yang, Hao, Song, Liu, Zou, Yifang, Sun, Dandan, Wang, Limei, Yu, Zhuo, Guo, Jianfeng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 18.01.2021
• Subjects: Animals; Bandages; Biocompatible Materials - chemistry; Biocompatible Materials - pharmacology; Epidermal Growth Factor - chemistry; Epidermal Growth Factor - pharmacology; Extracellular Matrix - metabolism; Hyaluronic Acid - chemistry; Regeneration - drug effects; Regeneration - physiology; Regenerative Medicine; Skin - injuries; Wound Healing - drug effects; biological materials; combination therapy; complexity of healing process; hyaluronan; regenerative medicine
• ISSN: 2576-6422; 2576-6422
• DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.0c01364

The skin can protect the body from external harm, sense environmental changes, and maintain physiological homeostasis. Cutaneous repair and regeneration associated with surgical wounds, acute traumas, and chronic diseases are a central concern of healthcare. Patients may experience the failure of current treatments due to the complexity of the healing process; therefore, emerging strategies are needed. Hyaluronic acids (HAs, also known as hyaluronan), a glycosaminoglycan (GAG) of the extracellular matrix (ECM), play key roles in cell differentiation, proliferation, and migration throughout tissue development and regeneration. Recently, HA derivatives have been developed as regenerative biomaterials for treating skin damage and injury. In this review, the healing process, namely, hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and maturation, is described and the role of HAs in the healing process is discussed. This review also provides recent examples in the development of HA derivatives for wound healing.