Preparation and characterization of oligomeric hyaluronic acid-ketal as a tumour CD44 receptor and pH-sensitive targeting carrier

Oligomeric hyaluronic acid(oHA)and ketal was linked by histidine to form a novel oHA-ketal(oHM)carrier with targeting capacity to CD44 receptor and pH sensitivity. The chemical structure of oHM was characterized by ¹H NMR and ESI-MS. Some properties, including the formation of micelles, morphology and pH-sensitivity were studied. The oHM can form micelles by self-assembly. The micelles were spherical shape with the diameter about 100 nm, and they also showed some pH-sensitivity. Therefore, oHM could be a potential pH-sensitive tumor targeting carrier to CD44 receptor.