OBJECTIVE: To review the recent advances of hyaluronic acid and its derivatives in medical application. METHODS: Recent original articles related to hyaluronan derivatives and their medical applications were retrieved extensively. RESULTS: Hyaluronic acid and its derivatives play important roles in visosurgery, arthritis therapy, prevention of adhesion, drug delivery, soft-tissue dilation, and percutaneous embolization. CONCLUSION: Development of hyaluronan derivatives may widen their medical application.
Objective To verify the technics of inactivating/removing pathogens in medical chitosan derived from shrimp shell. Methods Possible pathogen species were included according to the raw material of shrimp shell used in production, then bacillus cereus, porcine parvovirus (PPV) and pseudorabies virus (PRV) were selected as indicator pathogens.Pathogen solution was prepared in accordance with Technical Standard for Disinfection. The processing procedure of medical chitosan was analyzed to determine whether the alkal ization of chitin and the filter steril ization of chitosan were capable of inactivating/removing pathogens and their efficiencies were tested. Results Bacillus cereus was removed by 8 184 cfu/ mL after alkal ization and 30 818 cfu/mL after filter steril ization. The average logarithm inactivation value (LIV) of PPV and PRV after alkal ization were equal to or above 4.76 logTCID50/0.1 mL and 6.67 logTCID50/0.1 mL, respectively, and their average LIV after filter steril ization were 2.25 logTCID50/0.1 mL and 3.04 logTCID50/0.1 mL. The alkal ization of chitin inactivated/removed indicator pathogens effectively, while the filter steril ization of chitosan removed bacterial effectually but could not inactivate viruses completely. Conclusion The alkal ization of chitin can be used as the technics of inactivating/removing pathogens during the preparation process of medical chitosan to guarantee the safety of the product.
To develop a novel biodegradable collagen-chitosan-[poly(vinyl alcohol), PVA] composite artificial lacrimal canal iculus for treating tear overflowing (epiphora) caused by canal icular obstruction. Methods Homogeneously mixing solution composed of collagen, chitosan and PVA with different ratios was prepared. After several cycles of freezing/thawing process, the mixing solution was transferred into elastic hydrogel. Then the hydrogel was rinsed, punctured, dehydrated and trimmed, and three groups (T1, T2 and T3) of novel artificial lacrimal canal iculus were obtained. The appearance and diameter of all samples were observed under optical microscopy. The cross-section before and after drying as well as phase distribution of sample T2 was observed by SEM. The water absorption ratio and expanding ratio in PBS solution were calculated from three swell ing behavior curves. The degradabil ity of groups T1, T2 and T3 were prel iminary analyzed by degradation experiment in vitro. Results The micro-tubes with 0.5-0.7 mm in inner diameter, 0.9-1.5 mm in outer diameter and more than 20 mm in length were fabricated successfully through physical crossl inking without addition of toxic cross-l inker. SEM result showed that the sample had uniform phase distribution and smooth surface at dried state as well as interpenetrate network structure at hydrogel state. It was seen from the swell ing behavior curves that groups T1, T2 and T3 swelled rapidly within 10-30 minutes, and formed elastic composite hydrogel pipes. In addition, the expanding ratio of inner and outer diameter of the tube was 20%-30% and 100%-120% with swell ing, respectively. The equil ibrium water content of the hydrogel pipes increased with increase of collagen composition. Three groups of samples were immerged in PBS solution contained 2 mg/mL lysozyme at 37 for 1 month, their nozzle cracked, their wall became thin and more transparent. And also, there was small floc deposited on the tube surface. The samples were degraded into mash after they were soaked in PBS solution at 70 for 2 days. Conclusion The novel artificial lacrimal canal iculus with good mechanical property and high water absorption is in favor of operation, tear passing and anti-conglutination. It will be a potential candidate for treating the lacrimal passage occlusion.
Objective To prepare carboxymethylchitin and study its properties. Methods Chitin was prepared from fresh shrimp shells and then carboxymethylchitin was prepared by the methods of alkalization and etherification as well as by the purification technique. The deacetylation degree of carboxymethylchitin was determined by the doublejump potentiometric titration method; the substitution degree was determined by the element analysis method; the carboxymethyl substitution position was analyzed by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy apparatus and the nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy apparatus; the relative molecular weight and its polydispersity were determined by the gel permeation chromatography with the multiple angle laser light scattering detection; the biological properties were tested according to the GB/T 16886 biological evaluation on medical devices. Results Carboxymethylchitin could be prepared by alkalization and etherification from chitin which was prepared from fresh shrimp shells by decalcification and deproteinization. The deacetylation degree of carboxymethylchitin was 13.76% according to the doublejump potentiometric titration; the degrees of deacetylation and substitution were 14.53% and 1.239 0 respectively according to the element analysis. The IR spectrum showed that the substitutive position was N,O-substitution, and the 13C-NMR spectrum showed that substitutive position of carboxymethylchitin was mostly primary substitution of 6-OH, and according to the substitutive proportion, the substitutive turns were in the following decreasing order: 6-OH, NH2, and 3-OH. The weightaveraged and the numberaveraged molecular weights and polydispersity were 6.25×105, 5.60×105 and 1.22, respectively. The results from the biological property test showed that carboxymethylchitin was a biomaterial that was sterile, pyrogen-free, acute toxicity-free, cytotoxicity-free, intracutaneous irritationfree, skin sensitization-free and biomaterial genotoxicity-free, with no side or adverse effects on the related tissues after implantation into the human body. Conclusion Carboxymethylchitin prepared from chitin by alkalization and etherification is amacromolecule biomaterial that has a low degree of deacetylation, a high degreeof substitution, and a good biocompatibility.