Reactions of free radicals with hyaluronic acid in simple solutions

Reactions of free radicals with hyaluronic acid in simple solutions 

Hyaluronic acid is a component of the extracellular ground substance which surrounds the collagen and elastin fibres and cells of connective tissue [64], It is a member of the group of polysaccharides isolated from vertebrate connective tissues which were formerly called mucopolysaccharides and are now more commonly referred to as glycosaminoglycans [65,66], Glycosaminoglycans commonly occur in vivo as proteoglycans. 

Hyaluronic acid is found in most connective tissues including human vitreous, skin, synovial fluid and umbilical cord. One of its biological roles is its ability to contain large amounts of water in intercellular space. It can thus locate cells in a jelly-like matrix and resistance of tissue towards infection may partly depend on this property. The intercellular matrix has a viscoelastic nature [75-77] and is thought to have a role in absorbing shock. Hyaluronic acid can exist in the form of aggregates [81,82] or a network structure [78-80], Such a network offers a filter or macromolecular sieve-like resistance to other molecules as well as cells [83,84], 

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