Synthetic oligosaccharides as heparin-mimetics displaying anticoagulant properties

Heparin and low molecular weight heparins are major clinical anticoagulants and the drugs of choice for the treatment of deep venous thrombosis. The discovery of an antithrombin binding domain in heparin focused interest on understanding the mechanism of heparin's antithrombotic/ anticoagulant activity. Various heparin-mimetic oligosaccharides have been prepared in an effort to replace polydisperse heparin and low molecular weight heparins with a structurally-defined anticoagulant. The goal of attaining a heparin-mimetic with no unwanted side-effects has also provided motivation for these efforts. This article reviews structure-activity relationship (SAR) of structurally-defined heparin-mimetic oligosaccharides.