Close
Help




JOURNAL

Glycobiology Insights

Challenges for Heparin Production: Artificial Synthesis or Alternative Natural Sources?

Submit a Paper


Glycobiology Insights 2012:3 1-6

Letter to Editor

Published on 16 May 2012

DOI: 10.4137/GBI.S9705


Further metadata provided in PDF



Sign up for email alerts to receive notifications of new articles published in Glycobiology Insights

Abstract

The commentary emphasizes the immediate necessity to find alternative sources for the production of pharmaceutical heparin to meet the ton-amount world's demand of the glycosaminoglycan. The recent development of a synthetic approach brings considerable new technical and scientifically relevant knowledge to the field, with a strong potential for application in the future. However, the artificial approach does not offer a rapid alternative for the current world crisis affecting the production of heparin, which has to respond to an increasing worldwide demand. It is important to call attention for the availability of marine organisms that are rich sources of heparin analogs with significant anticoagulant activity, low bleeding effect that have been cultivated in very large amounts for years in different parts of the world. Additionally, alternative sources of mammalian heparin, such as bovine intestine and lung have been continually used in countries from South America, Africa and Asia, since the outbreak of the BSE without any report of prion contamination in humans. Recently, it has been shown that bovine and porcine intestinal heparins are composed by different proportions of a mixture of the same fractions that can be simply separated by anion exchange chromatography. In other words, high quality porcine heparin can be obtained from bovine tissue. We believe that alternative animal sources of heparin are currently a more realistic solution than artificial heparin to respond to the increasing demand for heparin.



Downloads

PDF  (425.85 KB PDF FORMAT)

RIS citation   (ENDNOTE, REFERENCE MANAGER, PROCITE, REFWORKS)

Supplementary Files 1  (47.93 MB M4V FORMAT)

BibTex citation   (BIBDESK, LATEX)


Video Abstract

Sharing


What Your Colleagues Say About Libertas Academica
testimonial_image
I have had nothing but positive experiences publishing with Libertas Academica.  The publication procedure is as quick and smooth as any I've encountered, and the peer review process is sufficiently rigorous that the reader can have complete confidence in the content of its journals.
Dr Michele A. Faulkner (Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA)
More Testimonials

Quick Links


New article and journal news notification services
Email Alerts RSS Feeds
Facebook Google+ Twitter
Pinterest Tumblr YouTube