Dextran Sulfate Sodium Salt (6,000-8,000 M.Wt), 100g

Dextran sulfate is a polyanionic derivative of dextran produced by esterification of Dextran with chlorosulphonic acid. The sulfur content is approximately 17% which corresponds to an average of 1.9 sulfate groups per glucosyl residue of the dextran molecule. Dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) is the sodium salt which is a white to off-white powder freely soluble in water and salt solutions to form a stable, clear solution. The high purity and reproducible quality enables its application in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industry. Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS) which has proven to have versatile value in Biomedical/clinical research. DSS can be used as an anticoagulant, antiviral as well as antilipemic agent. Anticoagulant – DSS has been tested as a possible substitute for heparin in anticoagulant therapy. This anticoagulant activity was established in 1945 by Gronwall et al., Compared to heparin (130 units/g) Dextran Sodium Sulphate has a lower anticoagulant activity (15 units/g) Antiviral and Antienzyme Activity – Baba et al., have shown in In Vitro studies that DSS inhibits the binding of various enveloped viruses including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Herpes Virus (HSV) and Cytomegalovirus (CMV) to cells. Additionally, DSS has also shown to exhibit a potent inhibitory effect on many enzymes, for example hyaluronidase, adenylate cyclase, and amylase. Hofer at al., have shown that DSS induces bacterial translocation in HIV-infected humanized mice.