What is the structure of heparin oligosaccharide fragments with high anti-(factor Xa) activity?
The structure of heparin oligosaccharide fragments with high anti-(factor Xa) activity was studied in a 1981 Biochem J article by Casu et al. The study used chemical and 13C nuclear-magnetic-resonance methods to determine that the fragment contained a minimal antithrombin III-binding sequence. The results of the study indicated that the fragment was composed of repeating disaccharide units with an alternating sequence of α-l-iduronic acid and α-d-glucosamine, and that the fragment contained a pentasaccharide region with a specific antithrombin III-binding sequence.