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Hyaluronic acid (also called Hyaluronan, hyaluronate or HA) is a high molecular weight biopolysaccharide, discovered in 1934 in the vitreous of bovine eyes. The name is derived from “hyalos”, which is the Greek word for glass and hyaluronic acid. It consists of repeated disaccharide units which are composed of D-glucuronic acid and D-N-acetylglu-cosamin. The number of disaccharides can reach about 10,000 in one molecule, so that hyaluronic acid could possess a molecular weight between 106 and 107 Da and extend up to more than 10 µm (≈ diameter of erythrocyte).

Hyaluronic acid is a major component of connective tissues and thus distributed ubiquitously in the organism. About one-half of the body’s entire hyaluronic acid is found in the skin and about one fourth in the skeleton and its supporting structures like ligaments and joints. Hyaluronic acid is placed in the areas between cells, where it absorbs and holds water to act as a cushion for the body’s tissues. It is essential for the structure and organization of extracellular matrices since it forms a network interacting with proteins, receptors and cell surfaces.