Marc Douaisi, Elena E Paskaleva, Li Fu, Navdeep Grover, Charity L McManaman, Sony Varghese, Paul R Brodfuehrer, James M Gibson, Ian de Joode, Ke Xia, Matthew I Brier, Trevor J Simmons, Payel Datta, Fuming Zhang, Akihiro Onishi, Makoto Hirakane, Daisuke Mori, Robert J Linhardt, Jonathan S Dordick
Heparins have been invaluable therapeutic anticoagulant polysaccharides for over a century, whether used as unfractionated heparin or as low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) derivatives. However, heparin production by extraction from animal tissues presents multiple challenges, including the risk of adulteration, contamination, prion and viral impurities, limited supply, insecure supply chain, and significant batch-to-batch variability. The use of animal-derived heparin also raises ethical and religious concerns, as well as carries the risk of transmitting zoonotic diseases...
April 2, 2024: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America