CHEMICAL-COMPOSITION, PARTICLE-SIZE RANGE, AND BIOLOGICAL-ACTIVITY OF SOME LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT HEPARIN DERIVATIVES

Several low molecular weight (LMW) heparin sodium derivatives from different sources, as well as some related regular heparin sodium preparations, were examined for chemical composition by high field (300 MHz) 1H NMR spectroscopy, for particle size range by quasi‐elastic light scattering (QELS) methods, and for anti‐coagulation potency and anti‐factor Xa activity by the standard U.S. Pharmacopeial assays described for regular heparin. The NMR spectra provided insight into possible modes of depolymerization used to generate the LMW heparins, as well as into the presence of dermatan sulfate or other chemical contaminants. The QELS analysis permitted the heparin preparations to be characterized and compared by virtue of their distinctive particle size distributions. Copyright © 1990 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company