The key difference between sodium hyaluronate and hyaluronic acid is that the sodium hyaluronate is the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid whereas the hyaluronic acid is glycosaminoglycan common in human connective tissues.
Glycosaminoglycan compounds are long, unbranched polysaccharides containing disaccharides as the repeating unit. The disaccharide unit is “keratan”, and the two monosaccharides in this disaccharide are an amino sugar and a uronic sugar or galactose. Hyaluronic acid is a glycosaminoglycan compound, and it is common in connective tissues of animals.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Sodium Hyaluronate
3. What is Hyaluronic Acid
4. Side by Side Comparison – Sodium Hyaluronate vs Hyaluronic Acid in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Sodium Hyaluronate?
Sodium hyaluronate is the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid. Therefore, it is a glycosaminoglycan having a long chain polymer of disaccharide units. These disaccharide units consist of Na-glucuronate-N-acetylglucosamine. Moreover, this compound can bind with specific receptors that have a high affinity for this compound. The polyanionic form of this compound is “hyaluronan”. It is a visco-elastic polymer. This compound is common in the extracellular matrix of mammalian connective, epithelial, and neural tissues.
Figure 01: Chemical Structure of Sodium Hyaluronate
Furthermore, it occurs in corneal endothelium. The major function of this compound is that it acts as a lubricant for tissues and modulate the interactions between adjacent tissues. When dissolved in water, it can form a visco-elastic solution. When injected into our body, Sodium hyaluronate disappears within hours of injection. But there are residual effects on contacted cells. The side effects of this compound (when used as an injection) includes postoperative inflammation, corneal edema, etc.
What is Hyaluronic Acid?
Hyaluronic acid is a glycosaminoglycan that is common in human connective tissues. It is a nonsulfated glycosaminoglycan (other glycosaminoglycan compounds are sulfated compounds). This means it contains no sulfur. The distribution of this compound in our body include connective tissues, epithelial tissues and neural tissues. It forms in the plasma membrane (instead of Golgi apparatus).
Figure 02: Chemical Structure of Hyaluronic Acid
This compound is very large because it consists of a large number of monomer units. Therefore, the molecular weight of this compound is also very high. A person (70 kg) may have around 15 grams of hyaluronic acid. It has many medical uses, cosmetic uses and others. As examples for medical uses, this compound is useful in treating osteoarthritis of the knee, to treat dry, scaly skin, to create artificial tears to dry eye, etc. In addition, it is a common ingredient in skin care products in the cosmetic industry.
What is the Difference Between Sodium Hyaluronate and Hyaluronic Acid?
Sodium hyaluronate is the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid. The major function of sodium hyaluronate is that it acts as a lubricant for tissues and modulate the interactions between adjacent tissues. In addition, it has medical uses; as an Intra-articular injection to treat osteoarthritis, as skin injections in plastic surgery, as a topical application (cream) for better absorption of biomacromolecules, etc.
Hyaluronic acid is a glycosaminoglycan that is common in human connective tissues. The major role of this compound is that it is an important component of articular cartilage in which it coats all the cells. Moreover, uses of the hyaluronic acid include medical uses such as in treating osteoarthritis of the knee, to treat dry, scaly skin, to create artificial tears to dry eye, etc. and also it has applications in cosmetic industry as a common ingredient in skin care products.
Summary – Sodium Hyaluronate vs Hyaluronic Acid
Hyaluronic acid is a major component in our body. Sodium hyaluronate is a derivative of hyaluronic acid. The difference between sodium hyaluronate and hyaluronic acid is that the sodium hyaluronate is the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid whereas the hyaluronic acid is glycosaminoglycan common in human connective tissues.
Reference:
1. “Glycosaminoglycan.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 June 2018. Available here
2. “Hyaluronic Acid.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 June 2018. Available here
Image Courtesy:
1.’Sodium hyaluronate’By Ed (Edgar181) – Own work, (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2.’Hyaluronan’By Vaccinationist – Own work, (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia