HA as a scaffold why its good

HA as a scaffold crosslinking it
HA as a scaffold the structure of it

HA has a variety of useful properties that make it suitable for use in scaffolds. HA is biocompatible,
biodegradable, bioactive, non-immunogenic and non-thrombogenic (Laurent TCE, 1998). Additionally,
HA has good water-binding capacity, allowing it to expand up to 1000 times its volume and form a
hydrated network (Laurent TC, 1992). This allows the HA network to control the transport of water
through the scaffold and restrict movement of pathogens. The viscosity of HA as a hydrogel allows it to
be injectable, avoiding the need for invasive surgery.

HA normally degrades very rapidly in the body due to reactive oxygen species, with half-lives in joints
ranging from only hours to days (Lepperdinger G, et al., 2004). However, the degradation rate can be
slowed, while still keeping HAs other favorable properties, by crosslinking the HA hydrogel with other
chemicals.

Since HA on its own is negatively charged, it can reduce cell adhesion. To avoid this, HA can be combined
with a positively charged molecule such as chitosan (W.M. Tian, et al., 2005). Chitosan itself is also
biocompatible and biodegradable, making Chitasan/HA scaffolds a good option for cartilage
regeneration.

Laurent TCE. The Chemistry, Biology, and Medical Applications of Hyaluronan and Its Derivatives.
Portland Press; Miami: 1998

Lepperdinger G, Fehrer C, Reitinger S. Chemistry and Biology of Hyaluronan. Elsevier Ltd.; 2004

Laurent TC, Fraser JRE. Faseb Journal. 1992;6:23972404.

W.M. Tian, S.P. Hou, J. Ma, C.L. Zhang, Q.Y. Xu, I.S. Lee, H.D. Li, M. Spector, and F.Z. Cui. Tissue
Engineering. May 2005, 11(3-4): 513-525. doi:10.1089/ten.2005.11.513.