Hyaluronic acid fillers as injectable biomaterials
Relationships among network architecture, rheology, and hyaluronidase response
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67463/b9ekmt47Keywords:
hyaluronic acid fillers, injectable biomaterials, rheology, hyaluronidase, crosslinked hyaluronic acid, network architectureAbstract
Objective: To critically reinterpret contemporary evidence on hyaluronic acid fillers through a biomaterials framework that links network architecture, rheology, and hyaluronidase response.
Sources and interpretive strategy: This narrative review prioritized comparative and material-characterization studies published between 2018 and 2026, with greater interpretive weight assigned to studies that compared technological platforms and reported analytically useful physicochemical or degradation data.
Synthesis: Available evidence consistently shows that hyaluronic acid fillers are materially heterogeneous. Differences in crosslinking chemistry, molecular-weight composition, gel-phase organization, cohesivity, and viscoelastic profile translate into non-equivalent dissolution patterns under standardized hyaluronidase exposure. Susceptibility to hyaluronidase cannot be inferred from a single rheological parameter or from commercial taxonomy alone; it emerges from the interaction among network architecture, gel concentration, crosslink density and distribution, and experimental variables such as enzyme source, dose, dilution, exposure time, and readout method.
Conclusion: Current evidence supports a materially explicit reading of filler performance and argues against treating enzymatic reversibility as a generic class property. Further progress will depend on more standardized and auditable study designs integrating advanced rheology, microstructural characterization, and reproducible degradation assays.
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