END-LABEL FREE-SOLUTION ELECTROPHORESIS OF THE LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT HEPARINS

The intact heparins are highly charged oligosaccharides. Their charge polydispersity and the possible occurrence of numerous isomers complic ate the analysis of these biomedically important glycoconjugates. Afte r unsuccessful attempts to resolve the low molecular weight heparins i n entangled matrixes, or through the use of counterions (Stefansson, M .; Novotny, M. V. Anal. Chem. 1994, 66, 3466-3471), we have designed a unique end-label recent to incorporate both a fluorescent moiety and a desirable frictional increment to the analyte molecules, The resolut ion of small oligomers was improved dramatically following this approa ch. We also propose a scheme, based on the end-label free-solution ele ctrophoresis model (Mayer, P.; Slater, G. W.; Drouin, G. Anal. Chem. 1 994, 66, 1777-1780), that could potentially predict the migration time s of some oligomers of complex heparin mixtures.