Precision Unveiled-Heparin Characterization Excellence
Heparin is a polysulfated acidic straight-chain polysaccharide composed of repeating disaccharide units and belongs to the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) family. Because of its good anticoagulant activity, it has become the most widely used anticoagulant in clinical applications. To ensure the safety, efficacy, and stability of heparin products, its characterization is particularly important.
As a specialized biology company, CD BioGlyco has a research team dedicated to Marine Carbohydrates. Our team provides clients with comprehensive and efficient heparin characterization solutions through leading-edge technologies.
Structural Analysis
- Ultraviolet (UV) Spectral
Heparin is prepared as a solution and UV spectral scanning is performed. The characteristic absorption peaks of the UV spectrum of heparin are between 185 and 220 nm wavelength.
- Infrared (IR)
The IR spectrogram effectively expresses information about the functional groups as well as the monosaccharide conformation of heparin.
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
NMR is an effective method to analyze the type of glycosidic bonding and connectivity of heparin.
Monosaccharide Composition Analysis
Heparin is composed of monosaccharides such as glucosamine (GlcN) and glucuronic acid (GlcA) or idoacetic acid (IdoA). Here, we offer a variety of chromatographic techniques to analyze the monosaccharide composition of heparin.
- Ion Chromatography-Pulsed Amperometric Detection (IC-PAD)
This method can effectively compare the differences in the monosaccharide composition of GAGs such as heparin, CS, and DS, and can also be used for qualitative and quantitative analyses of heparin's glycan chain end structure.
- Derivatization
This method can be applied to analyze the monosaccharide composition of heparin from various marine animal sources.
Disaccharide Analysis
Different sources of heparin differ in the position and number of sulfate groups in the repeating disaccharide unit. We use a combination of different separation mechanisms and suitable assays for disaccharide analysis of heparin.
- Strong Anion-exchange Chromatography-UV (SAX-UV)
SAX is a chromatographic method for the separation of heparin disaccharides or oligosaccharides based on their ionic gradient. Combined with a UV detector, SAX embodies the features of high resolution, good stability, and accurate quantification.
- Reversed-phase Ion-pair Chromatography-mass Spectrometry (RPIP-MS)
RPIP provides a good separation of both heparin disaccharides and oligosaccharides, and the combination of MS enables the method to qualitatively analyze unknown or uncommon components.
- Hydrophilic Interaction Chromatography-MS (HILIC-MS)
HILIC is a hybrid chromatographic mode that combines multiple separation mechanisms such as normal phase and ion exchange, and is suitable for the separation of strongly polar compounds. Therefore, this method can be used to analyze heparin disaccharide, which is highly hydrophilic.
- Capillary Electrophoresis (CE)
This method can be used for qualitative and quantitative analysis of heparin disaccharides with different degrees of sulfation.
Anti-blood Clotting Activity Analysis
- Determination of Heparin Potency
Heparin potency is determined by azurite A colorimetric method, and its UV absorbance is measured at a specific wavelength, and finally the heparin potency is calculated according to the regression equation.
- Heparin Anti-blood Clotting Activity
We analyze the anti-blood-clotting activity of heparin by using activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), and thrombin time (TT) as the indexes.
Applications
- During the development of novel heparin-based drugs, characterization services are used to confirm the structure, purity, and potency of compounds.
- Through detailed characterization, researchers can better understand the biological functions of heparin and its interactions with other biomolecules.
- Characterizing the physicochemical properties of heparin can be used to assess its stability and ensure that it maintains its action over its useful life.
Advantages
- Advanced analysis technology: We have the latest Marine Animal Polysaccharide Characterization technology to perform high-precision heparin characterization and achieve high-sensitivity analysis of heparin.
- Professional team: Our team not only has profound theoretical knowledge of GAG characterization but also has rich practical experience, which enables us to provide custom heparin characterization solutions for our clients.
- Comprehensive reports and support: We provide detailed reports on heparin analysis, including heparin's structural features, purity, activity, and other key parameters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the structural features of heparin?
Heparin belongs to the family of GAGs, which are straight-chain polysaccharides consisting of repeating disaccharide units of GlcN and GlcA or IdoA by 1,4-linked, where GlcA and IdoA are differential isomers of each other. The structure of heparin exhibits typical microscopic heterogeneity due to the diverse expression of the position and number of sulfate groups in the heparin sugar chain.
What are the biological activities of heparin?
Heparin is a naturally occurring polysaccharide that has a variety of biological activities including anti-blood clotting activity, anti-inflammatory activity, anti-viral activity, anti-cancer activity, and angiogenesis modulating activity.
CD BioGlyco provides state-of-the-art heparin characterization services using advanced analysis techniques and in-depth expertise to clients in the pharmaceutical, scientific, and biotechnology sectors. Whether you require structural analysis, purity testing, or bioactivity assessment, our team of experts will provide you with a comprehensive solution. Please feel free to contact us to learn more about our heparin characterization services.
Reference
- Workman, W.E.; Carrick, K.L. Quantitative analysis of impurities in unfractionated heparin of bovine origin. Front. Med. 2020, 6: 315.
