A proton magnetic resonance spectral study of heparin. L-Iduronic acid residues in commercial heparins

Abstract

The p.m.r. spectra of commercial heparin samples from a variety of sources indicate that there are at least two types of heparin. These types are differentiated by small, but distinct, variations in the relative intensities of their proton signals and, most noticeably, by the presence of acetyl groups in samples of one of the types. The spectral data also indicate that approximately equimolar proportions of three kinds of constituent sugar residues are present in all of the heparin samples. Deaminative degradation of a heparin, followed by exhaustive reduction of the carboxyl groups, acetolysis, and deacetylation, yielded L-idose as a major product. It is tentatively concluded that L-idosyluronic acid residues constitute about one-third of the constituent sugars of the commercial heparins, and that the aminodeoxy-D-hexosyl and D-glucosyluronic residues (already recognized as constituents) each constitute one-third of the polymeric material. © 1968.