Potentiality of proton nuclear magnetic resonance and multivariate calibration methods for the determination of dermatan sulfate contamination in heparin samples

A 1H NMR method for the quantification of dermatan sulfate impurities in heparin industrial samples is proposed. The method is based on the analysis of 1H NMR spectral data by multivariate calibration. The 1H NMR spectra of heparin and dermatan sulfate standards showed characteristic profiles. Thus, differences in the methyl peaks of acetamido groups of heparin and dermatan sulfate were greatly advantageous for the analysis. Other hydrogens of the sugar ring were also relevant in this study. Thus, the determination of dermatan sulfate by multivariate calibration depended on all these differences. Partial least squares regression (PLS) was chosen as the calibration method. In addition, a data standardization procedure was developed in order that 1H NMR spectra registered with different instruments operating under different measurement conditions were comparable. The quantification of dermatan sulfate in the samples was satisfactory, with an overall prediction error of 6%.