Structure and bioactivity of sulfated polysaccharides

Sulfated polysaccharides including glycosaminoglycans show various chemical and biological functions. These functions strongly depend on the presence and spatial positioning of their sulfo groups. Therefore, chemical modifications such as partial, per-O-sulfonation or desulfonation are expected to alter the function of sulfated polysaccharides. There are many reports on the chemical modification of polysaccharides. This paper focuses on the investigation of both the chemical modification of polysaccharides and its effect biological function. A structure-activity relationship, SAR, is established on both intact and chemically modified polysaccharides.