Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Anticoagulant Drugs: Low-Molecular-Weight Heparins

Anticoagulant Drugs: Low-Molecular-Weight Heparins

Hemostasis is a crucial process that prevents excessive blood loss from damaged blood vessels. It involves various mechanisms such as vasoconstriction, platelet adhesion and activation, and fibrin formation. The importance of each mechanism depends on the type of vessel injury. In contrast, thrombosis is the abnormal formation of a blood clot within the blood vessels, leading to potential complications if the clot obstructs blood flow. Thrombosis can be caused by increased coagulability of the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Preliminary Comparative Analysis of Circulatory Glycosaminoglycan Concentrations and Disaccharide Profiles in Diabetic and Healthy Subjects.

The Eurasian journal of medicine·2026

Same author

Structural characterization and anti-lung cancer activity of fucoidans derived from Saccharina japonica.

International journal of biological macromolecules·2026

Same author

Exploring the GM-CSF histidine triad as a modulator of structure, molecular motion, and ligand binding.

RSC chemical biology·2026

Same author

A Case Study on the Impact of Thermal Hydrolysis and Lactone Ring Opening of Linker-Payload on Drug-to-Antibody Ratio Determination in a Topoisomerase I Inhibitor-Based ADC.

Bioconjugate chemistry·2026

Same author

Molecular Functions and Drug Prediction of MMP1 and TGFBR2 in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Journal of clinical laboratory analysis·2026

Same author

A sulfated manno-glucuronan ameliorates β-cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes by targeting ALDH1A3.

Carbohydrate polymers·2026

Same journal

Untreated Rosehip Powder/Poly(Lactic Acid)/Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate-Co-4-Hydroxybutyrate) Electrospun Mats for Wound Dressing Applications.

Biopolymers·2026

Same journal

Synthesis, Characterization, and Antidiabetic Evaluation of Sequence-Modified Liraglutide Analogs in a Drosophila melanogaster Model.

Biopolymers·2026

Same journal

Fabrication of an Antibacterial Alginate/Chitosan Hydrogel Dressing Loaded With CuO Nanoparticles for Wound Dressing Applications.

Biopolymers·2026

Same journal

Effect of Chitosan-Alginate Polyelectrolyte Complex Formation and Multilayer Polymer Configuration on the Characteristics of 3D-Printed Metronidazole-Loaded Periodontal Films.

Biopolymers·2026

Same journal

Phenolic Grafting of Oxidized Cellulose Nanofibers Using Ferulic Acid: Structural and Antioxidant Analysis Toward Bioactive Nanomaterials.

Biopolymers·2026

Same journal

Detection of a Target Nucleic Acid by Ligation-Assisted Fluorescence Enhancement of a Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) Twin Probe via Disulfide Binding.

Biopolymers·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Structural Studies of Macromolecules in Solution using Small Angle X-Ray Scattering

Structural Studies of Macromolecules in Solution using Small Angle X-Ray Scattering

Published on: November 5, 2018

Heparin's solution structure determined by small-angle neutron scattering.

Kenneth A Rubinson^1,2, Yin Chen^3,4, Brady F Cress⁴

¹NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899. rubinson@wright.edu.

|August 21, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The solution structure of heparin, a clinical anticoagulant, was investigated. Heparin

Keywords:

aqueous solution structure counter ion concentration effects heparin polyelectrolyte collapse secondary structure

More Related Videos

$Studying Soft-matter and Biological Systems over a Wide Length-scale from Nanometer and Micrometer Sizes at the Small-angle Neutron Diffractometer KWS-2$

Studying Soft-matter and Biological Systems over a Wide Length-scale from Nanometer and Micrometer Sizes at the Small-angle Neutron Diffractometer KWS-2

Published on: December 8, 2016

Surface Engineering of Pancreatic Islets with a Heparinized StarPEG Nanocoating

Surface Engineering of Pancreatic Islets with a Heparinized StarPEG Nanocoating

Published on: June 23, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Structural Studies of Macromolecules in Solution using Small Angle X-Ray Scattering

Structural Studies of Macromolecules in Solution using Small Angle X-Ray Scattering

Published on: November 5, 2018

$Studying Soft-matter and Biological Systems over a Wide Length-scale from Nanometer and Micrometer Sizes at the Small-angle Neutron Diffractometer KWS-2$

Studying Soft-matter and Biological Systems over a Wide Length-scale from Nanometer and Micrometer Sizes at the Small-angle Neutron Diffractometer KWS-2

Published on: December 8, 2016

Surface Engineering of Pancreatic Islets with a Heparinized StarPEG Nanocoating

Surface Engineering of Pancreatic Islets with a Heparinized StarPEG Nanocoating

Published on: June 23, 2018

Area of Science:

Biochemistry
Polymer Science
Biophysics

Background:

Heparin is a vital clinical anticoagulant, discovered in 1916.
Its precise solution structure and shape have remained largely unknown for a century.
Understanding heparin's conformation is crucial for its therapeutic applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate the solution structure and shape of heparin.
To investigate how varying ion concentrations (sodium and potassium) affect heparin's conformation.
To model heparin's molecular shape under different solution conditions.

Main Methods:

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) was employed to probe heparin solutions.
Experiments were conducted using deuterium oxide (D2O) solutions.
Heparin solutions of 10 kDa at millimolar concentrations were analyzed.

Main Results:

At sodium concentrations near or exceeding the charge equivalence, heparin adopts a compact, cylindrical shape (length 3-4 times diameter).
In molar sodium concentrations, heparin molecules extend significantly, approaching their theoretical full length.
Molar potassium ions prevent this extension, maintaining a compact shape similar to low pD conditions.

Conclusions:

Heparin's solution conformation is highly sensitive to cation concentration.
Sodium ions induce an extended molecular structure, while potassium ions favor a compact form.
These findings provide critical insights into heparin's behavior in biological environments.