title: Hyaluronic acid and its derivatives in drug delivery and imaging: Recent advances and challenges.
abstract: Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a biodegradable, biocompatible, nontoxic, and non-immunogenic glycosaminoglycan used for various biomedical applications. The interaction of HA with the CD44 receptor, whose expression is elevated on the surface of many types of tumor cells, makes this polymer a promising candidate for intracellular delivery of imaging and anticancer agents exploiting a receptor-mediated active targeting strategy. Therefore, HA and its derivatives have been most investigated for the development of several carrier systems intended for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Nonetheless, different and important delivery applications of the polysaccharide have also been described, including gene and peptide/protein drugs delivery. The aim of this review was to provide an overview of the existing recent literature on the use of HA and its derivatives for drug delivery and imaging. Notable attention is given to nanotheranostic systems obtained after conjugation of HA to nanocarriers as quantum dots, carbon nanotubes and graphene. Meanwhile, attention is also paid to some challenging aspects that need to be addressed in order to allow translation of preclinical models based on HA and its derivatives for drug delivery and imaging purposes to clinical testing and further their development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tripodo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Trapani
authors.affiliation: Department of Drug Sciences, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Torre
authors.affiliation: Department of "Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche, Farmaceutiche (STEBICEF)", University of Palermo, via Archirafi 32, Palermo 90123, Italy.
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giammona
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trapani
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy-Drug Sciences, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy. Electronic address: delia.mandracchia@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Delia
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mandracchia
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D020100:Hydrogels; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D011091:Polyesters; D000077182:Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D019344:Lactic Acid; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; C033616:poly(lactide); C006903:carbopol 940; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid
keywords: All-trans retinoic acid (PubMed CID: 444795); Carbon nanotubes; Chitosan (PubMed CID: 71853); Curcumin (PubMed CID: 969516); Docetaxel (PubMed CID: 148124); Doxorubicin (PubMed CID: 31703); Drug delivery; Etoposide (PubMed CID: 36462); Hyaluronic acid; Hyaluronic acid (PubMed CID: 3084050); Intracellular delivery; Irinotecan (PubMed CID: 60838); Mitoxantrone (PubMed CID: 4212); Paclitaxel (PubMed CID: 36314); Quantum dots; Theranostics