Table 1.

Differences between heparan sulfate and heparin

Characteristics	Heparan sulfate	Heparin
Site of synthesis	Virtually all cells	Connective tissue-type mast cells
Core protein	Many (~17)	Serglycin
Cell membrane attached?	Yes	No
Size	20–100 kDa	7–20 kDa
Alternate NS/NAc domains	Yes	Minimal
Average sulfate/disaccharide	0.6–1.8	1.8–2.6
IdoA	20–50%	≥80%
N-Sulfate	30–60%	≥80%
2-O-Sulfate	10–40%	≥80%
6-O-Sulfate	10–40%	≥80%
Binding to antithrombin	0–0.3%	~30%
Commercial availability	Milligrams	Kilograms

Abbreviation: IdoA, l-iduronic acid.