Hyaluronan-albumin complexes behavior at physiological conditions.

This thesis discusses the interactions of low molecular weight and high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HA) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) in physiological environment. It is based on previous work dealing with HA and amphiphilic substances which are currently widely studied for its potential applications in medicine. Solutions of HA with fixed concentration and albumin of concentration in the range of 0,25 – 20 g/l were prepared at room temperature and at 37°C and examined by rheometry and turbidimetry. It was observed that the maximum absorbance increases with increasing concentration of BSA and does not show variations depending on the temperature of preparation. On the other hand, the turbidity occurs in significant differences between the samples prepared at ambient temperature and at 37°C. Overall, the turbidity increases with the concentration of BSA. Rasing the temperature caused the increase in viscosity of the samples, which was further varied with the concentration of BSA. Mixed solutions of high molecular weight HA and BSA showed the highest turbidity, maximum absorbance and viscosity, while the solutions of BSA showed the lowest values. The results indicate formation of complexes, of which properties are dependent on BSA concentration, the molecular weight of HA, and the temperature of preparation