title: Mass spectrometric methods for the analysis of heparin and heparan sulfate.
abstract: Glycosaminoglycans like heparin and heparan sulfate exhibit a high degree of structural heterogeneity. This structural heterogeneity results from the biosynthetic process that produces these linear polysaccharides in cells and tissues. Heparin and heparan sulfate play critical roles in normal physiology and pathophysiology; hence it is important to understand how their structural features may influence overall activity. Therefore, high-resolution techniques like mass spectrometry represent a key part of the suite of methodologies available to probe the fine structural details of heparin and heparan sulfate. This chapter outlines the application of techniques like LC-MS and LC-MS/MS to study the composition of these polysaccharides, and techniques like GPC-MS that allow for an analysis of oligosaccharide fragments in these mixtures.
authors.affiliation: Momenta Pharmaceuticals, 675 West Kendall Street, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
authors.forename: Miroslaw
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lech
authors.forename: Ishan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Capila
authors.forename: Ganesh V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Kaundinya
mesh_terms: D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D006493:Heparin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D019763:Heparin Lyase / Q000378:metabolism; D006495:Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight / Q000737:chemistry; D006497:Heparan Sulfate / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D006493:Heparin; D019763:Heparin Lyase; D006495:Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight; D006497:Heparan Sulfate