Hyaluronic acid hydrogel nanoscaffolds: production and assessment of the physicochemical properties

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is the major constituent of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and mainly acts as a filler in the connective tissues. The goal of the current study was to develop and evaluate the physiochemical properties of HA hydrogel nanoscaffolds. Chemical precipitation technique and the use of glutaraldehyde-based crosslinking were utilized to prepare the nanoscaffolds. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta sizer (measurement of zeta potential), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were performed to characterize the produced HA hydrogel nanoscaffolds. A relatively bimodal and monodispersed HA nanohydrogels were obtained and the mean particle size was reported to be 291.30 nm. In addition, the results showed that zeta potential had a negative value (-5.96 mv). The FTIR results proved the crosslinking of the constructed scaffold. The observed physiochemical specifications proposed that HA hydrogel nanoscaffolds could hold promise in different biomedical implementations, in particular, tissue regeneration.