Abstract
Background: Hyaluronan (HYA) is a high molecular weight glucosaminoglycan with a great perspective for medical applications. Because HYA is widespread in the body, it is difficult to determine the fate of exogenously administered HYA.
Methods: In this study, HYA of different molecular weights (0.1-1 MDa) was labelled with Tc-99m, and the distribution profiles were determined after administrating the HYA to rats. Results: After the intravenous administration of Tc-99m-HYA, a rapid decrease in the radioactivity of blood samples was observed, presumably because of Tc-99m-HYA uptake by the liver; only minimal signs of liver radioactivity washout were detected.
After the oral administration of Tc-99m-HYA, no significant absorption to the central compartment was found. A preliminary study using C-14-HYA exhibited a different distribution profile than Tc-99m-HYA because of the different administered dose and the fate of the degradation products.
Even with C-14-HYA, only traces of radioactivity were absorbed after oral administration. Conclusion: This paper provides quantitative information regarding the distribution parameters of radiolabelled HYA in preclinical experiments.