A procoagulant chemically sulfated mannan

Disorders of hemostasis can produce innumerous problems. Polysaccharides have been studied both as anticoagulant and as procoagulant agents. A mannan with a main chain of α-(1 → 6)-linked-Manp units, branched at O-2 mainly by side-chains of 2-O-linked-α-Manp units was chemically sulfated, structurally characterized by NMR and GC-MS (methylation, desulfation and methylation with trideuterated iodomethane), and tested in vitro and in vivo on blood coagulation models. Chemical analyses indicate a high degree of substitution on the sulfated polysaccharide. This polymer acted as a procoagulant agent, increasing blood coagulation in normal and hemophilic plasma, activated platelet aggregation and also decreased ex vivo aPTT. Polymers such as the sulfated mannan could be a helpful source of hemostatic agents to prevent hemorrhagic states.