Preparation and characterization of tritiated heparin.

Abstract

The properties of heparin as an inhibitor of blood coagulation have been known for several years(l). However, the physiology and metabolism of heparin has been only slightly clarified. With the preparation of radioactive heparin the possibility for quantitative metabolic studies of this substance can be undertaken. Eiber and Danishefsky(2) reported on the preparation of heparin labeled with S35 by biosynthesis in the dog. With this material they have studied the disposition of heparin after injection by following its disappearance from the circulation(3) and its deposition in various organs(4). More recently Levy and Petracek(5) have prepared heparin-S35 by the chemical reaction of pyri-dine S35O3 or trimethylamine-S35O3 with partially desulfated heparin. Both preparative methods led to biologically active preparations with radioactivity counts of the order of 105 dpm/mg. There is still a need for a radioactive heparin labeled with another isotope, e.g., tritium, in positions other than the sulfate moiety...