Method

The GAGs listed in the table below were first dried in a constant-mass tube and the dry mass weighed, after which exact 1 mg/mL solutions were prepared. These solutions were diluted in six concentrations (80, 40, 20, 10, 5, and 2.5 ?g/mL) to prepare a dilution series, and measured in accordance with the protocol for the Sulfated GAG Quantitation Kit. The absorbances obtained were shown on a graph.

Results

*Relative reactivity is calculated as the percentage reactivity of each GAG at a concentration of 40 µg/mL compared ith that of sulfated GAG standard solution at the same concentration.

Conclusion

Chondroitin sulfate A, B, C, and D exhibited almost identical reactivity at 90-110% of that of the standard solution. Keratan sulfate and keratan polysulfate exhibited reactivity of around 70%, and heparan sulfate of around 80%. Heparin and chondroitin sulfate E, which contain high sulfate levels, exhibited reactivity of around 120%.

We have confirmed that this kit is therefore not significantly affected by differences between the various types of sulfated GAGs during detection. The complete absence of reaction with hyaluronic acid and chondroitin, which do not contain sulfate bases, confirms that it specifically detects sulfated GAGs.