Rheology of mixed alginate-hyaluronan aqueous solutions

The present manuscript addresses the description of binary systems of hyaluronan (HA) and alginate (Alg) in semi-concentrated solution. The two polysaccharides were completely miscible in the entire range of relative weight fraction explored at a total polymer concentration of up to 3 % (w/V). The rheological study encompassed steady flow and mechanical spectra for HA/Alg systems at different weight fractions with hyaluronan at different molecular weights. These extensive analyses allowed us to propose a model for the molecular arrangement in solution that envisages a mutual exclusion between the two polysaccharides even though a clear phase separation does not occur. This result may have profound implications when biomaterials based on the combination of alginate and hyaluronan are proposed in the field of biomedical materials.