Interactions between Sodium Hyaluronate and β-Cyclodextrin as Seen by Transport Properties

Knowledge of mass transport parameters, diffusion, and viscosity of hyaluronic acid (HA) in the presence of cyclodextrins is of considerable importance for areas such as food packaging and drug delivery, among others. Despite a number of studies investigating the functionalization of HA or the corresponding sodium salt by cyclodextrins, only a few studies have reported the effect of cyclodextrins on the mass transport of HA in the presence of these oligosaccharides. Here, we report the tracer binary and ternary interdiffusion coefficients of sodium hyaluronate (NaHy) in water and aqueous beta-cyclodextrin solutions. The diffusion behavior of sodium hyaluronate was dependent on the reduced viscosity of NaHy, which, in turn, presented a concave dependence on concentration, with a minimum at approximately 2.5 g dm(-3). The significant decrease in the limiting diffusion coefficient of NaHy (at most 45%) at NaHy concentrations below 1 g dm(-3) in the presence of beta-cyclodextrin, taking water as the reference, allowed us to conclude that NaHy strongly interacted with the cyclodextrin.

Automated summary

Knowledge of the mass transport parameters, diffusion, and viscosity of hyaluronic acid (HA) in the presence of cyclodextrins is important for applications in food packaging and drug delivery. This study focused on investigating the effect of cyclodextrins on the mass transport of HA. The results showed that there was a strong interaction between HA and cyclodextrin, leading to a significant decrease in the diffusion coefficient of HA at low concentrations.