title: Review. Hyaluronan: a powerful tissue engineering tool.
abstract: Hyaluronan (HA) is a versatile molecular tool with considerable potential for tissue engineering applications. The inclusion of HA has created biocompatible biomaterials and engineered tissues that can be crosslinked or degraded controllably and can facilitate angiogenesis, osteointegration, and cell phenotype preservation. The utility of HA in tissue engineering has been broadened further by the recently identified HA synthases, which can be manipulated to stimulate the endogenous production of HA by cells seeded within biomaterial scaffolds. Overall, HA shows great promise in the development of engineered tissues and biomaterials for a variety of biomedical needs including orthopedic, cardiovascular, pharmacologic, and oncologic applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77251-1892, USA.
authors.forename: David D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.forename: K Jane
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Grande-Allen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D023822:Tissue Engineering
chemical_list: D006820:Hyaluronic Acid