{"id":3691,"date":"2016-01-22T13:00:35","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T19:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=3691"},"modified":"2022-06-15T06:12:28","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T12:12:28","slug":"pcc-hyaluronic-acid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/3691\/pcc-hyaluronic-acid\/","title":{"rendered":"Hyaluronic Acid: A Ubiquitous Biopolymer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HyaluronicHyaluronic acid<\/a> (HA) or sodium hyaluronate is a ubiquitous biopolymer<\/a> found in connective, epithelial, and neural mammalian tissues. HA is a high molecular weight (1000-3000K Daltons), anionic polysaccharide that is a composed of repeating disaccharide units of d-glucuronic acid and n-acetyl-d-glucosamine<\/a>.\u00a0HA is highly hygroscopic and can bind up to 1000 times its weight in water.<\/p>\n

The average person has roughly 15 grams of HA in their body of which one-third is replaced every day. HA is also present in the stratum corneum and is believed to play a role in regulating its mechanical properties. The HA content in skin decreases with age, which may contribute to the development of fine lines, wrinkles and other signs of aging.<\/p>\n

HA was discovered in 1934 by Karl Meyer in an ophthalmology lab at Columbia University. Meyer discovered that HA in cows’ eyes helped the eyes retain their\u00a0shapes. The substance was very viscous, leading Meyer to suspect that it might have additional therapeutic uses. In the early 1940s, Dr. Endre Balazs, also at Columbia, discovered how to extract and purify HA from rooster combs. Since the 1970’s, HA has been injected into the arthritic knees of racehorses to reduce inflammation, and it is used in veterinary eye surgery.<\/p>\n

HA was not used on humans until 1980, after Dr. Balazs sold his patents and methods to Pharmacia, the Swedish drug company. That year, Pharmacia introduced Healon, a product used in cataract surgery to protect the cornea while a new lens is installed. In the late 1990s, Synvisc was\u00a0launched to treat arthritic human knees.<\/p>\n

Biomatrix, the first cosmetic grade of HA, was developed by Dr. Balazs in 1981. In 1982, he partnered with Est\u00e9e Lauder to help develop the first major cosmetic product containing HA called Night Repair\u00ae.<\/p>\n

HA production based on fermentation using streptococcus zooepidemicus was developed in 1984 by Shiseido (US patent 4801539), and today, virtually all of the HA used in cosmetics is produced this way. In February 2003, the FDA approved Restylane as a non-animal dermal filler to reduce skin wrinkles, followed by Juvederm in 2006.<\/p>\n

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HA is normally classified by its MW: high MW >1000K Daltons; low MW, 10K-1000K Daltons; oligo, <10K Daltons, monomeric N acetyl glucosamine. The properties of HA vary significantly depending on its MW and often you can get synergistic benefits by combining HA with different MWs.<\/p>\n

Reported skin benefits for HA include:<\/h3>\n