Hyaff scaffold

Esterification and etherification are the two most commonly used methods to modify HA to form a scaffold while maintaining its biocompatibility [39, 40]. The -COOH group of the glucuronic acid subunit can be reacted with an alcohol, for example benzyl alcohol, to form an ester, in this case henzyl ester (Figure 2.1a) [40]. This modification also increases the hydrophobicity of the HA macromer, thus prolonging its degradation time. These hydrophobic modified HA compounds can be made into scaffolds via electrospinning, for example, into fibres, meshes, and membranes. In particular, this chemistry is used to prepare the commercially available HYAFF 11 scaffold [39-42]. 

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