Biomedical applications and effect of hyaluronic acid as a filler material

Abstract

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring biodegradable polymer with a variety of applications in medicine including scaffolding for tissue engineering, dermatological fillers and viscosupplementation for osteoarthritis treatment. HA is present in most connective tissues as well as, in body fluids such as synovial fluid and in the vitreous humor of the eye. Due to its versatility, hyaluronic acid has been a major component of biomedical research and has seen application in several fields such as tissue engineering and cancer treatments. This review aims to outline hyaluronic acid’s effect and applications in the biomedical world.