Bucillamine as An Efficient H Atom Donor Protects High-Molar-Mass Hyaluronan from Oxidative Degradation by Effective Scavenging of Free Radicals

Abstract

Bucillamine has been indicated to possess a protective potential towards high-molar-mass hyaluronan degradation induced by free-radical-generating system composed of cupric ions and ascorbate. In the present study, we used a multimodal approach applying a variety of methods including non-isothermal chemiluminometry, thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry; with a particular focus on characterization of the hyaluronan fragments produced.

Under our experimental conditions, bucillamine was found to remarkably retard oxidative degradation of high-molar-mass hyaluronan. The observed outputs, specifically the reduction in chemiluminescence intensity and disappearance of differential scanning calorimetry exotherm (at 270^oC) for hyaluronan fragments, may be indicative for further studies aiming at revealing the particular mechanism(s) of action of bucillamine in this process.