Properties of new materials: Rheological study on hyaluronic acid and its derivative solutions

Rheological measurements were performed on Hyaluronic acid (HA) and its derivative solutions to evaluate steady flow viscosity and dynamics response with the aim to correlate the materials properties to the concentration, molecular weight and chemical structure. At low molecular weight and concentration, the HA solutions behaved as viscous liquid, whereas a soft-gel response was evident at higher molecular weight and concentration due to chains entanglement. Increasing the molecular weight was more effective than increasing concentration in promoting entanglement of molecular chains of HA. Comparing the behavior of HA solutions with that of Hyaluronic acid derivatives, it is showed that it is possible to modulate the rheological properties of HA based solutions by chemical modification preserving the biocompatibility of the materials. The results of the rheological analysis provide a valuable tool to properly design optimal substitutes for specific biomedical application.