The role of hyaluronic acid in wound healing: assessment of clinical evidence.

Hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan), a naturally occurring polymer within the skin, has been extensively studied since its discovery in 1934. It has been used in a wide range of medical fields as diverse as orthopedics and cosmetic surgery, but it is in tissue engineering that it has been primarily advanced for treatment. The breakdown products of this large macromolecule have a range of properties that lend it specifically to this setting and also to the field of wound healing. It is non-antigenic and may be manufactured in a number of forms, ranging from gels to sheets of solid material through to lightly woven meshes. Epidermal engraftment is superior to most of the available biotechnologies and, as such, the material shows great promise in both animal and clinical studies of tissue engineering. Ongoing work centers around the ability of the molecule to enhance angiogenesis and the conversion of chronic wounds into acute wounds.