On the state of hyaluronic acid in synovial fluid

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Abstract
A hyaluronic acid complex was prepared from synovial fluid by ultrafiltration, and judged to be undegraded by viscosity and ultracentrifuge measurements. Its composition and physico-chemical properties were compared with those of the native synovial fluid, mucin, and hyaluronic acid prepared from mucin by ethanol precipitation at -20[degree]. Hyaluronic acid occurs in synovial fluid in close association with protein, which constitutes about 30% of the complex; removal of this leads to degradation. The particle weight of this complex, estimated by sedimentation and diffusion, is about 106, with an axial ratio of about 60. The viscosity at low rates of shear indicates considerable interaction between these "particles," even at high dilution. The hyaluronic acid was in most cases found to contain somewhat less than the theoretical percentage of glucosamine.