| abstract |
1. A glycosaminoglycan-based composition comprising a glycosaminoglycan modified by covalently linking a lipid fragment to about 1-15% of the repeating disaccharide monomer units of the glycosaminoglycan, in which: the modified glycosaminoglycan is a hyaluronanedic acid derivative, polysulfonamide, or hexose associated with hexosamine, or their derivatives, the modified glycosaminoglycan has a molecular weight of about 2 ki odaltone up to about 2500 kilodaltons, the lipid fragment contains one or more natural or synthesized fatty acids, glycerolipids, phospholipids, sphingolipids, sterollipids, prenollipids or their derivatives, provided that the polar head group of the lipid fragment contains a functional group that provides covalent binding of the lipid to glycosaminoglycan and the modified glycosaminoglycan is able to penetrate the skin barrier or membrane of the mucous membrane when applied to it, while the reaction glycosaminoglycan with a lipid fragment forms a modified glycosaminoglycan. 2. The glycosaminoglycan-based composition according to claim 1, wherein the glycosaminoglycan is modified by covalently linking the lipid fragment to about 1-12% of the repeating disaccharide monomer units of glycosaminoglycan. The glycosaminoglycan-based composition according to claim 1, wherein the glycosaminoglycan is modified by covalently linking a lipid moiety to about 1-10% of the repeating disaccharide monomer units of glycosides |