Water-insoluble fibres, threads, and fabrics from lauroyl derivatives of hyaluronan.

Hyaluronan (HA) is a naturally occurring polysaccharide widely used in medicine and cosmetics. To further broaden its potential, various HA derivatives have been developed with the aim of reducing solubility, slowing degradation, or providing other beneficial properties. However, for most medical applications, these derivatives must be processed into suitable forms. Here we present water-insoluble fibres prepared from lauroyl-modified HA using a wet spinning process. Important properties of the fibres, such as swelling or the degradation rate, can be fine-tuned by adjusting the degree of HA modification. Due to their mechanical properties, the lauroyl HA fibres can be easily processed into threads and subsequently into fabrics of various sizes, shapes, and degrees of porosity. In addition, in vitro cytotoxicity testing of the fibres showed that they were non-cytotoxic. Overall, our results suggest that lauroyl HA fibres are a promising material that could be used to develop a variety of medical devices.

Lauroyl hyaluronan films for local drug delivery: Preparation and factors influencing the release of small molecules.

Lauroyl derivatives of hyaluronan are safe and biodegradable materials that seem promising for application in medicine. However, their potential in the field of drug delivery was not yet explored. We thus prepared lauroyl hyaluronan films loaded with various drugs and studied the effects of lauroyl hyaluronan properties, drug hydrophobicity and medium composition on the drug release. Since biomolecules will always be present in real clinical applications, media supplemented by albumin were also included. The amphiphilic character of lauroyl hyaluronan enabled convenient loading of the films by both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. Dominant factors influencing drug release were drug hydrophobicity and the presence of albumin. Hydrophilic diclofenac was released rapidly in all cases, while triclosan with medium hydrophobicity exhibited slower release sensitive to other parameters, reaching equilibrium values in the used experimental setup. The release of hydrophobic octenidine into pure buffer was almost negligible, but the addition of albumin did promote its release. The strong effect of albumin highlights the importance of considering biomolecules in the design of release experiments.

Antimicrobial nanofibrous mats with controllable drug release produced from hydrophobized hyaluronan.

Due to their large active surface, high loading efficiency, and tunable dissolution profiles, nanofibrous mats are often cited as promising drug carriers or antimicrobial membranes. Hyaluronic acid has outstanding biocompatibility, but it is hydrophilic. Nanofibrous structures made from hyaluronan dissolve immediately, making them unsuitable for controlled drug release and longer applications. We aimed to prepare a hyaluronan-based antimicrobial nanofibrous material, which would retain its integrity in aqueous environments. Self-supporting nanofibrous mats containing octenidine dihydrochloride or triclosan were produced by electrospinning from hydrophobized hyaluronan modified with a symmetric lauric acid anhydride. The nanofibrous mats required no cross-linking to be stable in PBS for 7 days. The encapsulation efficiency of antiseptics was nearly 100%. Minimal release of octenidine was observed, while up to 30% of triclosan was gradually released in 72 h. The nanofibrous materials exhibited antimicrobial activity, the fibroblast viability was directly dependent on the antiseptic content and its release.

Biodegradable free-standing films from lauroyl derivatives of hyaluronan.

Hyaluronan (HA) films exhibit properties suitable for medical applications, but the solubility of HA limits their use in aqueous environments. This can be overcome by modifying HA with hydrophobic side groups that enable physical cross-linking. In this work, we present water insoluble free-standing films from lauroyl modified HA as novel biomaterials with properties tuneable by the degree of HA substitution. The films are homogeneous, mechanically strong, and flexible and can be sterilized by ethylenoxide. To characterize the films, we measured their thickness, dry mass, content of residual organic solvent, mechanical properties, swelling and enzymatic degradation. The safety and biodegradability of the films were tested both in-vitro and in-vivo, showing that the films are safe and that their degradation can be tailored by the degree of HA substitution.