XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
 Latest Research
 Cancer
 Psychiatry
 Genetics
 Surgery
 Aging
 Ophthalmology
 Gynaecology
 Neurosciences
 Pharmacology
 Cardiology
 Obstetrics
 Infectious Diseases
 Respiratory Medicine
 Pathology
 Endocrinology
 Immunology
 Nephrology
 Gastroenterology
 Biotechnology
 Radiology
 Dermatology
 Microbiology
 Haematology
  Hemophilia
  Anaemia
  Polycythemia
  Thalassemias
 Dental
 ENT
 Environment
 Embryology
 Orthopedics
 Metabolism
 Anaethesia
 Paediatrics
 Public Health
 Urology
 Musculoskeletal
 Clinical Trials
 Physiology
 Biochemistry
 Cytology
 Traumatology
 Rheumatology
 
 Medical News
 Health
 Opinion
 Healthcare
 Professionals
 Launch
 Awards & Prizes
 
 Careers
 Medical
 Nursing
 Dental
 
 Special Topics
 Euthanasia
 Ethics
 Evolution
 Odd Medical News
 Feature
 
 World News
 Tsunami
 Epidemics
 Climate
 Business
 
 India
Search

Last Updated: Nov 18, 2006 - 12:32:53 PM

Haematology Channel
subscribe to Haematology newsletter

Latest Research : Haematology

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Synthetic heparin could replace animal-derived drug
Feb 7, 2006 - 3:24:00 PM, Reviewed by: Dr. Sanjukta Acharya

"These discoveries will enable us to effectively replace a variable raw material – heparin derived from processed animal organs – with a synthetic material – synthetic heparin – and have the same therapeutic result."

 
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered an alternative way to produce heparin, a drug commonly used to stop or prevent blood from clotting. The findings could enable the current supply of the drug – now extracted from animal tissue – to be replaced or supplemented by the synthetic version. The new process also can be applied as a tool for drug discovery, according to the researchers.

Heparin is a complex carbohydrate used to stop or prevent blood from clotting during medical procedures and treatments such as kidney dialysis, heart bypass surgery, stent implantation, indwelling catheters, knee and hip replacements, and deep vein thrombosis. The annual worldwide sales of heparin are estimated at $3 billion.

"We have synthetically prepared heparin in quantities large enough for use in human medical treatments by engineering recently discovered heparin biosynthetic enzymes," says Robert Linhardt, the Ann and John H. Broadbent Jr. '59 Senior Constellation Professor of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. "These discoveries will enable us to effectively replace a variable raw material – heparin derived from processed animal organs – with a synthetic material – synthetic heparin – and have the same therapeutic result."

Research in Linhardt's group at the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Rensselaer focuses on complex carbohydrates such as heparin. After determining the structure of these molecules, researchers study their biological activities to establish a structure-activity relationship that may reveal lead compounds for new drug development.

Researchers at MIT first prepared a synthetic heparin, but, in amounts of less than 1 microgram, it was insufficient to treat humans, says Linhardt. One human dose of heparin is approximately 100 milligrams.

Rensselaer and UNC-Chapel Hill researchers successfully synthesized hundreds of milligrams of heparin by developing a large-scale process involving engineered enzymes and co-factor recycling. The new, scaleable process can be applied to synthesize other heparin-based structures that regulate cell growth and may have applications in wound healing or cancer treatment, according to the researchers. The findings were reported Dec. 30, 2005, in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in a paper titled "Enzymatic redesigning of biological active heparan sulfate."

The process also can be applied in solid phase synthesis as a tool for screening lead compounds with heparin-like structures for drug discovery, according to the researchers.

Linhardt collaborated on the interdisciplinary project with Jian Liu, assistant professor of medicinal chemistry at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Graduate and post-doctoral students involved in the work include: Jinghua Chen (UNC-Chapel Hill), Eva Munoz (Rensselaer), Fikri Avci (Rensselaer), Ding Xu (UNC-Chapel Hill), Melissa Kemp (Rensselaer), and Miao Chen (UNC-Chapel Hill). The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association. Rensselaer and UNC-Chapel Hill have jointly filed a provisional patent on the process.

Linhardt said additional research will seek to scale the process another million-fold to make it commercially viable.
 

- Published Jan. 13, 2006, in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communication in a paper titled "Enzymatic synthesis of heparin related polysaccharides on sensor chips: Rapid screening of heparin-protein interactions."
 

www.rpi.edu

 
Subscribe to Haematology Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 

Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Rensselaer
At Rensselaer, faculty and students in diverse academic and research disciplines are collaborating at the intersection of the life sciences and engineering to encourage discovery and innovation. Rensselaer's four biotechnology research constellations - biocatalysis and metabolic engineering, functional tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, biocomputation and bioinformatics, and integrative systems biology - engage a multidisciplinary mix of faculty and students focused on the application of engineering and physical and information sciences to the life sciences. Ranked among the world's most advanced research facilities, the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Rensselaer provides a state-of-the-art platform for collaborative research and world-class programs and symposia.

About Rensselaer
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, is the nation's oldest technological university. The university offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences, information technology, architecture, management, and the humanities and social sciences. Institute programs serve undergraduates, graduate students, and working professionals around the world. Rensselaer faculty are known for pre-eminence in research conducted in a wide range of fields, with particular emphasis in biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, and the media arts and technology. The Institute is well known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace so that new discoveries and inventions benefit human life, protect the environment, and strengthen economic development.


Related Haematology News

High-dose Calcitriol (DN-101) with Docetaxel Reduced Thrombosis
Blood-compatible nanoscale materials possible using heparin
Potential of HOXB4 and Hematopoietic Stem Cell Expansion
Deferasirox may revolutionize the way chronic iron overload is treated
Alpha-Thalassemia and Protection from Malaria
New research links αIIbβ3 to Glanzmann thrombasthenia
Hemophilia a silent killer
MBD2 Protein mediates silencing of the fetal gamma-globin gene through DNA methylation
JAK2 Mutation in blood stem cells provides clues to polycythemia vera
Urinary infection could cause deep vein thrombosis


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us