1932

Abstract

Although heparin is an important and widely prescribed pharmaceutical anticoagulant, its high degree of sequence microheterogeneity and size polydispersity make molecular-level characterization challenging. Unlike nucleic acids and proteins that are biosynthesized through template-driven assembly processes, heparin and the related glycosaminoglycan heparan sulfate are actively remodeled during biosynthesis through a series of enzymatic reactions that lead to variable levels of - and -sulfonation and uronic acid epimers. As summarized in this review, heparin sequence information is determined through a bottom-up approach that relies on depolymerization reactions, size- and charge-based separations, and sensitive mass spectrometric and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments to determine the structural identity of component oligosaccharides. The structure-elucidation process, along with its challenges and opportunities for future analytical improvements, is reviewed and illustrated for a heparin-derived hexasaccharide.

Keyword(s): CEcITPHPLCmass spectrometrymicrocoilNMRSEC
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-anchem-061010-113911
2011-07-19
2024-10-05
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-anchem-061010-113911
Loading
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-anchem-061010-113911
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Review Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error