title: Examination of a possible role for dermatan sulfate in the aggregation of commercial heparin samples.
abstract: A wide range of commercial heparin preparations were examined by the technique of quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS) for size distribution and evidence for aggregation in relation to determined dermatan sulfate (DS) content. No correlation could be found between DS content and state of aggregation. The possible interaction of DS with heparin was further studied by QELS in a control experiment in which known quantities of DS were added to a heparin sodium preparation known to be low in DS. The effect of increasing DS content was to slightly decrease the measured most probable size of the samples and also to decrease the size spread. The biological activity (as measured by the official test) of the heparin samples, including those treated with additional DS, was found to fall within the accepted limits, independent of the aggregation state of the samples. Overall, there is no direct, observable effect that links DS to the observed aggregation of commercial heparin samples, although DS itself is known to self-associate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Racey
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rochon
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Neville
mesh_terms: D002626:Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; D002807:Chondroitin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D003871:Dermatan Sulfate / Q000032:analysis*; D006493:Heparin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008027:Light; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D010316:Particle Size; D012542:Scattering, Radiation
chemical_list: D003871:Dermatan Sulfate; D006493:Heparin; D002807:Chondroitin