Resistance of hyaluronate coatings to hyaluronidase

Mucopolysaccharides such as hyaluronic acid and its salts are essential components of new hydrophilic bilaminar coatings being developed in these laboratories. The polysaccharide top-coat is covalently bonded by periodic urethane links to a substrate copolymer which in this study has been coated on polymethyl methacrylate slabs. Such coated slabs were exposed for up to 28 months to three levels of hyaluronidase in phosphate buffered saline at 37 degrees C, the enzyme concentration ranging from that normally present in human serum to 60 times that level. The coating survived without damage. The rationale proposed is that the enzyme is unable to position its active site with the immobilized hyaluronate molecule and is therefore unable to catalyze the hydrolysis.