title: Pharmaceutical grade chondroitin sulfate: Structural analysis and identification of contaminants in different commercial preparations.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to characterize 16 pharmaceutical grade chondroitin sulfate (CS) samples, concerning the structure and presence of contaminants, in comparison to USP and analytical grade CS. Agarose gel electrophoresis has shown that only 5 samples were >90% CS, while 11 contained less than 15% CS. FACE (fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis) revealed that maltodextrin was the main contaminant in nine of them, and lactose in two. Raman spectroscopy corroborated these results. Concerning the structure of the CS present in the five CS-rich samples, the ratios 4-sulfated:6-sulfated disaccharides varied from 0.9 to 1.7, and their modal molecular weight was 20-29 kDa. Also, they were all contaminated by small amounts of keratan sulfate (<1%). In conclusion, our findings indicate that the composition of CS preparations not always corresponds to the manufacturers' descriptions, and indicate that further characterization should be required for the registry and license of pharmaceutical grade CS.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG 36036-900, Brazil; Departamento de Bioquímica, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Unifesp, São Paulo, SP 04044-020, Brazil.
authors.forename: André Luiz
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: da Cunha
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG 36036-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz Gustavo
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG 36036-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lenize Fernandes
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Maia
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Química, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG 36036-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz Fernando Cappa
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Unifesp, São Paulo, SP 04044-020, Brazil.
authors.forename: Yara M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Michelacci
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, UFJF, Juiz de Fora, MG 36036-900, Brazil; Departamento de Bioquímica, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Unifesp, São Paulo, SP 04044-020, Brazil. Electronic address: jair.aguiar@ufjf.edu.br.
authors.forename: Jair Adriano K
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: de Aguiar
mesh_terms: D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000737:chemistry*; D004340:Drug Contamination; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D007632:Keratan Sulfate / Q000032:analysis; D007785:Lactose / Q000032:analysis; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000032:analysis; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman
chemical_list: D011134:Polysaccharides; C008315:maltodextrin; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates; D007632:Keratan Sulfate; D007785:Lactose
keywords: Chondroitin sulfate; Contaminants; FACE; Lactose; Maltodextrin; Raman spectroscopy