Microbial Synthesis of Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid is a polysaccharide with important applications in the area of pharmaceutical products in the treatment of degenerative and inflammatory diseases in human joints and recovery of synovial fluid, as a viscoelastic fluid added to surgical implants and as a vehicle for encapsulation and delivery of drugs and bioactive cosmetics. Since its discovery in human tissue, hyaluronic acid and its derivatives has been largely studied and applied in the biomedical arena. Hyaluronic acid binds to water giving it a stiff viscous quality similar to "Jell". This viscous gel is one of the most heavily researched substances today in medicine, orthopedics and eye surgery. Hyaluronic acid is one of the most hydrophilic (water-loving) molecules in nature and can be described as "Nature's moisturizer". At present, the utilization of biomolecules in the development of medicines is an immense challenge in the drug discovery. This book is mainly focussed on the optimization of culture conditions for the growth of the microorganism, hyaluronic acid production and its downstream processing at lab scale along with its characterization by sophisticated techniques.