Heparin Removed with Chitosan Microspheres

Researchers from Jagiellonian University (Krakow, Poland) used pH-sensitive chitosan microspheres that had been cross-linked with genipin — an aglycone derived from a compound present in gardenia fruit extract — to bind heparin at pH levels comparable to that found in blood. The binding was found to be pH dependent and was faster at lower pH. The chitosan microspheres swell at pH values below 6.5 and shrink somewhat at pH values greater than 6.5.