Hyaluronic acid molecular weight

Molecular weights of polysaccharides in solution can also be measured by osmotic pressure and light scattering. Osmotic pressure yields the number average molecular weight, which can be usefully used with Mw from sedimentation equilibrium as a measure of polydispersity Preston and Wik [28] have done this for example with hyaluronic acid. The ratio Mw/Mn the polydispersity index is often given as a measure of polydispersity, and can be related to the width of a molecular weight distribution via the well-known Herdan [96] relation ... 

High-molecular-weight hyaluronic acid is a constituent of normal cartilage that provides lubrication with motion and shock absorbency during rapid movements. Because the concentration and molecular size of endogenous hyaluronic acid decrease in OA, exogenous administration has been studied in an attempt to reconstitute synovial fluid and reduce symptoms. 

Duceppe N, Tabrizian M (2009) Factors influencing the transfection efficiency of ultra low molecular weight chitosan/hyaluronic acid nanoparticles. Biomaterials 30(13) 2625-2631... 

Shen Y, Li Q, Tu J et al (2009) Synthesis and characterization of low molecular weight hyaluronic acid-based cationic micelles for efficient siRNA delivery. Carbohydr Polym 77 (1) 95—104... 

Kutsch, H., and Schleich, C. (1989). Improved colorimetric determination of high-molecular weight hyaluronic acid from synovial fluids. Fresenius J. Anal. Chem. 333, 810-817. 

A low molecular weight protein, called link protein is also a component of proteoglycan aggregates. Link protein appears to bind simultaneously to hyaluronate and to the hyaluronic acid binding region of core protein, and stabilizes the bond between proteoglycan... 

Further investigations of the physical properties of hyaluronic acid are clearly necessary. The method of extraction is important and procedures which do not involve degradation should be used. There is the possibility also that protein in the polysaccharide-complex may cause purely physical aggregation and correspondingly high molecular weights. 

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