| Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) represent a division of carbohydrate chemistry with research applications in a variety of engineering, analytical, and biological disciplines. Heparan sulfate, and the structurally related GAG heparin, have been identified as the most important GAGs due to their biological and pharmacological potential. The issues associated with heparan sulfate and heparin research and production are important for the generation of industrial, medical, and academic targets.;Heparin is a therapeutic that can no longer be reliably produced from an animal source. Fluctuations in available animal resources, variability in manufactured animal products, and gaps in current good manufacturing processes add substantial economic burden to the consumer. The potential of heparin as a bioengineered therapeutic will drive the global supply of the pharmaceutical, ensuring the manufacturing safety and relieving patient costs.;Additionally, due to the tremendous number of physiological pathways with which heparan sulfates are implicated, a comprehensive study of the critical structure and chemical compositions required for binding and activation remains partially studied. Detailed studies on how GAGs with various structures influence growth factor binding and signal transduction initiation have been extensively studied using a combinatorial approach involving cell-based microarrays. |
