Hyaluronic Acid Scaffolds for Loco-Regional Therapy in Nervous System Related Disorders

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 23; no. 20; p. 12174
• Main Authors: Djoudi, Amel, Molina-Peña, Rodolfo, Ferreira, Natalia, Ottonelli, Ilaria, Tosi, Giovanni, Garcion, Emmanuel, Boury, Frank
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 12.10.2022; MDPI
• Series: Hyaluronic Acid: A Versatile Polysaccharide for Biomedical Applications 2022
• Subjects: Biocompatibility; Bioengineering; Biomaterials; Biotechnology; Brain cancer; Brain research; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Cartilage; Chemical Sciences; Chemotherapy; Disaccharides; Edema; Extracellular matrix; Glucosamine; Glycosaminoglycans; Hyaluronic acid; hydrogels; Life Sciences; Medical prognosis; Medication; Metabolism; N-Acetylglucosamine; Nervous system; Pharmaceutical sciences; Physiology; Polyelectrolytes; Polyethylene glycol; Polymers; Regenerative medicine; Review; Scaffolds; Stem cells; Surgery; Synovial fluid; Trauma; Traumatic brain injury; Tumors; Vitreous humor; Vitreous humour; hydrogels; nervous system; glioblastoma; loco-regional treatment; Hyaluronic acid scaffolds
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms232012174

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a Glycosaminoglycan made of disaccharide units containing N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and glucuronic acid. Its molecular mass can reach 10 MDa and its physiological properties depend on its polymeric property, polyelectrolyte feature and viscous nature. HA is a ubiquitous compound found in almost all biological tissues and fluids. So far, HA grades are produced by biotechnology processes, while in the human organism it is a major component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in brain tissue, synovial fluid, vitreous humor, cartilage and skin. Indeed, HA is capable of forming hydrogels, polymer crosslinked networks that are very hygroscopic. Based on these considerations, we propose an overview of HA-based scaffolds developed for brain cancer treatment, central and peripheral nervous systems, discuss their relevance and identify the most successful developed systems.