Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid (HA; sold as its salt, sodium hyaluronate, CAS 9067-32-7) is an unbranched, non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan composed of repeating D-glucuronic acid / N-acetyl-D-glucosamine disaccharide units. Despite the catalogue context, HA is no peptide — it has neither an amino acid backbone nor a peptide bond. It is listed in peptide catalogues because skin and joint research routinely uses it as a co-formulant and as a comparator.

Molecular weight decides the biology

In tissue, native HA may be larger than 1 MDa, and the length of the chain alters its biological behaviour, not merely its viscosity. High-molecular-weight HA is usually described as space-filling, water-retaining and anti-inflammatory; smaller chains and oligosaccharide fragments generated by oxidative breakdown or hyaluronidase digestion are described to be pro-inflammatory and pro-angiogenic via CD44 and TLR2/4. For research purposes a specification reading simply "hyaluronic acid" is therefore not enough — the COA should state the molecular-weight range.

Handling tips: HA takes up moisture very readily, dissolves slowly and is best left to hydrate without aggressive shearing; its solutions are thick enough to compromise pipetting accuracy. Heat, acidic pH and free radicals all break it down.

Related terms and material

See also hydrophilic, molecular weight (Da) and PDRN. The shop offers HA as 5 mg of freeze-dried powder or as a 2 mL solution at 1%, alongside cosmetic peptides; our explainer introduces the molecule.