The use of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy to characterise crude heparin samples by composition and structural features

Production of the major anticoagulant drug, heparin, is a complex process that begins with the collection of crude material from a dispersed network of suppliers with poor traceability, an issue that was made apparent in 2007-2008, when batches of heparin were contaminated deliberately in the supply chain, resulting in over 100 deaths in the US alone. Several analytical techniques are used currently for the characterisation of pharmaceutical grade heparin, but few have been applied to its crude counterpart. One exception is NMR spectroscopy which was used to study crude heparin (2017), however, owing to the high set-up and running costs, as well as the need for skilled technical operators, the use of NMR at crude heparin production plants is unviable. An alternative, practical, spectroscopic method is attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) that is user-friendly, economical and, importantly, requires little specialised training or sample preparation. Using a top-down chemometric approach employing principal component analysis, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy was able to distinguish crude heparins based on their similarity to pharmaceutical heparin, as well as on their compositional and structural features, which included levels of sulphation, the extent of related conformational changes, as well as the quantities of chondroitin and dermatan sulphate present. This approach lends itself to automation and will enable users and regulators to undertake quality control of crude heparin during manufacture. The method requires only economical, portable equipment and little specialised training, bringing the high-quality analysis of crude heparin within reach of both manufacturers and regulators for the first time.