Nanobiotechnology for health-care

Hyaluronic acid: structure, biological role, synthesis and applications
Olkhovyy O.I.1, Tatarchuk T.R.2, Olkhova O.V.3
1 Faculty of Pharmacy, Jagiellonian University Medical College. 
Medyczna, 9, Kraków 30-688, Poland. 
E-mail: oolkhovyi@gmail.com
2 Department of Chemistry, Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, 76018, Ukraine, tatarchuk.tetyana@gmail.com
3 Medical Clinic „Estetic Optic”, Lviv, 79000, Ukraine, estetic-optic@ukr.net

In recent years, pharmaceutical science have attracted great attention in the use of polysaccharides as the active and auxiliary substances. One of the most popular polysaccharide in medicine and cosmetology today is hyaluronic acid (HA). HA has a high molecular mass, and can be found in most biological fluids and connective tissues, umbilical cords, vitreous humor of the eye, chicken combs. 
The spectrum of application of hyaluronic acid is very wide. HA solutions have unique rheological properties that allow this biopolymer to behave like a viscoelastic gel even at low concentrations. Due to hydrophobic properties HA is involved in the control of processes such as reparative tissue regeneration, inflammation, etc. The HA-based drug systems are used in ophthalmology, dermatology and cosmetology. HA is a part of a medium for eye operations, preservation and transportation of cells. However, for the further successful use of HA in medicine, new methods for its synthesis, extraction and modification are necessary. 
The review describes the information on existing methods for the HA isolation, its use in medicine and modification methods. It was concluded, that more work is needed to develop the alternative methods for HA production, extraction and purification.