Antithrombotic properties of a dermatan sulfate hexadecasaccharide fractionated by affinity for heparin cofactor II.

The relationship between the antithrombotic activity of dermatan sulfate (DS) in vivo and its catalytic effect on the inhibition of thrombin by heparin cofactor II (HC II) in vitro was investigated. DS was depolymerized by Smith degradation and the fragments obtained were separated by gel filtration. The fragment of minimal size with full catalytic activity was a hexadecasaccharide, which was further fractionated by affinity for immobilized HC II.