Also known as Hyaluronan or Hyaluronate or abbreviated as HA. Hyaluronic acid molecular weight often reaches millions. It is actually non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan and anionic in nature.
It is distributed mainly in connective tissues, epithelial tissues, and neural tissues. Among all the glycosaminoglycan’s, it is unique because it is nonsulfated, synthesize in plasma, not in Golgi apparatus. It is one of the chief components in the extracellular matrix. Its main function is that it significantly contributes to the proliferation of the cells and as well as migration. It also plays a major role in the progression of some malignant tumors. It is found to be an important component of the Streptococcal extracellular capsule belonging to group A.
An average human weighing around 70kg contains about 15 grams of the hyaluronic acid in his/her body but one-third of that is degraded every day.
Commercially HA was first used in 1942 by Endre Balazs and who applied for the patent to use it as a substitute for egg white in bakery products. It was a very unique discovery because no other molecule had ever been discovered that has such unique properties in the human body. Balazs went on to become the leading expert on sodium hyaluronate crosspolymer and made the majority of discoveries concerning hyaluronic acids benefits.
Hyaluronic is found in many tissues of the body, such as skin, cartilage, and vitreous humor. Therefore, it is well suited to biomedical applications targeting these tissues. The first hyaluronic biomedical product, Healon, was developed in the 1970s and 1980s by Pharmacia and is approved for use in eye surgery such as in corneal transplantation, cataract surgery, glaucoma surgery and surgery to repair the retinal detachment. Other biomedical companies also produce brands of hyaluronic for ophthalmic surgery.
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