Research Progress of Hyaluronic Acid-Coated Nanocarriers in Targeted Cancer Therapy

Hyaluronic acid (HA), as a critical ingredient of extracellular matrix (ECM) and synovial fluid, has attracted extensive attention in targeted tumor thearpy. The superiority of HA is reflected as its great biocompatibility, biodegradability and special binding ability to CD44 receptor. Moreover, CD44 receptor proteins are overexpressed in many kinds of tumor cells and cancer stem cells (CSCs). Therefore, HA is commonly used as ligands for the surface modification of versatile nanocarriers applied in various tumor therapy approaches.