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The Application of Hyaluronic Acid in Drug Delivery

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A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 16419

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Silvia Arpicco

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Guest Editor

Dipartimento di Scienza e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Università di Torino, Via P. Giuria 9, 10125 Torino, Italy
Interests: liposomes; actively targeted drug delivery systems; hyaluronic acid; anticancer drugs
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Barbara Stella

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Guest Editor

Department of Drug Science and Technology, University of Turin, Via P. Giuria 9, 10125 Turin, Italy
Interests: polymer and lipid nanoparticles; liposomes; bioconjugates; drug delivery; controlled drug release; active targeting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a very attractive molecule for use either as a targeting moiety or for the delivery of active compounds. The application of HA in active targeting is due to its ability to reach the CD44 receptor, which is overexpressed in many tumors and on cancer stems cells. Exploiting this ligand-receptor interaction, the use of HA to actively target nanosystems is now a rapidly-growing platform for targeting CD44-overexpressing cells, to reach more specific therapies and/or diagnostics. Moreover, it is also widely used for parenteral systems in the case of sustained release formulations by preparing particles and hydrogels.

The aim of this Special Issue is to discuss the design, preparation, characterization and biomedical applications of drug delivery systems based on the use of HA. We cordially invite you to contribute to this themed issue. Both original research papers and comprehensive review articles are highly welcome.

Prof. Dr. Silvia Arpicco
Dr. Barbara Stella
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Hyaluronic acid
Drug delivery
Nanosystems
Active drug targeting
CD44 receptor
Imaging

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 7457 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hyaluronated and PEGylated Liposomes as a Potential Drug-Delivery Strategy to Specifically Target Liver Cancer and Inflammatory Cells

by Stefania Cannito, Valeria Bincoletto, Cristian Turato, Patrizia Pontisso, Maria Teresa Scupoli, Giorgia Ailuno, Ilaria Andreana, Barbara Stella, Silvia Arpicco and Claudia Bocca

Molecules 2022, 27(3), 1062; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27031062 - 04 Feb 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2571

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most frequent primary liver cancer and is characterized by poor clinical outcomes, with the majority of patients not being eligible for curative therapy and treatments only being applicable for early-stage tumors. CD44 is a receptor for hyaluronic acid (HA) and is involved in HCC progression. The aim of this work is to propose HA- and PEGylated-liposomes as promising approaches for the treatment of HCC. It has been found, in this work, that CD44 transcripts are up-regulated in HCC patients, as well as in a murine model of NAFLD/NASH-related hepatocarcinogenesis. Cell culture experiments indicate that HA-liposomes are more rapidly and significantly internalized by Huh7 cells that over-express CD44, compared with HepG2 cells that express low levels of the receptor, in which the uptake seems due to endocytic events. By contrast, human and murine macrophage cell lines (THP-1, RAW264.7) show improved and rapid uptake of PEG-modified liposomes without the involvement of the CD44. Moreover, the internalization of PEG-modified liposomes seems to induce polarization of THP1 towards the M1 phenotype. In conclusion, data reported in this study indicate that this strategy can be proposed as an alternative for drug delivery and one that dually and specifically targets liver cancer cells and infiltrating tumor macrophages in order to counteract two crucial aspect of HCC progression. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Hyaluronic Acid in Drug Delivery)

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Review

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21 pages, 2945 KiB

Open AccessReview

Hyaluronic Acid-Conjugated Carbon Nanomaterials for Enhanced Tumour Targeting Ability

by Oisin Kearns, Adalberto Camisasca and Silvia Giordani

Molecules 2022, 27(1), 48; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules27010048 - 22 Dec 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4354

Abstract

Hyaluronic acid (HA) has been implemented for chemo and photothermal therapy to target tumour cells overexpressing the CD44⁺ receptor. HA-targeting hybrid systems allows carbon nanomaterial (CNM) carriers to efficiently deliver anticancer drugs, such as doxorubicin and gemcitabine, to the tumour sites. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, graphene oxide (GO), and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are grouped for a detailed review of the novel nanocomposites for cancer therapy. Some CNMs proved to be more successful than others in terms of stability and effectiveness at removing relative tumour volume. While the literature has been focused primarily on the CNTs and GO, other CNMs such as carbon nano-onions (CNOs) proved quite promising for targeted drug delivery using HA. Near-infrared laser photoablation is also reviewed as a primary method of cancer therapy—it can be used alone or in conjunction with chemotherapy to achieve promising chemo-photothermal therapy protocols. This review aims to give a background into HA and why it is a successful cancer-targeting component of current CNM-based drug delivery systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Hyaluronic Acid in Drug Delivery)

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15 pages, 785 KiB

Open AccessReview

Applications of Hyaluronic Acid in Ophthalmology and Contact Lenses

by Wan-Hsin Chang, Pei-Yi Liu, Min-Hsuan Lin, Chien-Ju Lu, Hsuan-Yi Chou, Chih-Yu Nian, Yuan-Ting Jiang and Yuan-Hao Howard Hsu

Molecules 2021, 26(9), 2485; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26092485 - 24 Apr 2021

Cited by 50 | Viewed by 8600

Abstract

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan that was first isolated and identified from the vitreous body of a bull’s eye. HA is ubiquitous in the soft connective tissues of animals and therefore has high tissue compatibility for use in medication. Because of HA’s biological safety and water retention properties, it has many ophthalmology-related applications, such as in intravitreal injection, dry eye treatment, and contact lenses. Due to its broad range of applications, the identification and quantification of HA is a critical topic. This review article discusses current methods for analyzing HA. Contact lenses have become a widely used medical device, with HA commonly used as an additive to their production material, surface coating, and multipurpose solution. HA molecules on contact lenses retain moisture and increase the wearer’s comfort. HA absorbed by contact lenses can also gradually release to the anterior segment of the eyes to treat dry eye. This review discusses applications of HA in ophthalmology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Application of Hyaluronic Acid in Drug Delivery)

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