Heparin Sodium
Heparin is an anionic polysaccharide of mammalian origin with regular sequence. It consists principally of alternating iduronate and glucosamine residues most of which are sulphated. It is composed of polymers of alternating derivatives of D-glucosamine (N-sulfated, O-sulfated, or N-acetylated) and uronic acid (L-iduronic acid or D-glucuronic acid) joined by glycosidic linkages. It may be described as a sulfated glycosaminoglycan. Heparin sodium is the sodium salt of this sulphated glycosaminoglycan. The source of the material is swine intestinal mucosa.
Heparin has the characteristic property of delaying the clotting of freshly shed blood. This occurs mainly through the formation of a complex between the glycosaminoglycan structure with the plasma proteins antithrombin III and heparin cofactor II to potentiate the inactivation of plasmin.