ABSTRACT
Temporal and subcellular distributions of hyaluronic acid (HA) as a degradable nanoparticle (NP) in animals were investigated to determine if HA-NP could be utilized as an appropriate drug delivery system. After mice were intravenously injected with 5 mg/kg of Cy5.5-labeled HA-NP sized 350–400 nm or larger HA-polymers, the fluorescence intensity was measured in all homogenized organs from 0.5 h to 28 days. HA-NP was greatly detected in spleen, liver and kidney until day 28, while it was maintained at low levels in other organs. HA-polymer was observed at low levels in all organs. HA-NP quantities in spleen and liver were reduced until day 3, but increased sharply between days 3 and 7, then decreased again, while their HA-polymers were maintained at low levels until day 28. In kidneys, both HA-NP and HA-polymer showed high levels after 0.5 h of administration, but steadily decreased until day 28. According to ultrastructural analyses, HA-NP was engulfed in Kupffer cells of liver and macrophages of spleen and kidney at day 1 and was accumulated in the cytoplasm of kidney tubular cells at day 7. Overall, these findings suggest that HA-NP could be considered a desirable drug carrier in the liver, kidney, or spleen.