Divinylsulfone activation

Divinylsulfone Activation. One-half gram of IV-acetylated heparin was dissolved in 10 mL of 1.0M Na2C03 solution. One milliliter of divinylsulfone and either 1 mL of n-butylamine or 1 g of glycine or 2-aminoethyl hydrogen sulfate were added to the heparin solutions which were allowed to react at 22°C for 3 h. The reaction schemes are illustrated in Figure 3. The hydroxyl-derivatized heparins were then dialyzed and freeze-dried. 

The introduced groups can be further modified and activated, e.g. with carbodiimide or divinylsulfone chemistry, which enables the surface to bind to e.g. amino groups of proteins. However, also the activation of the protein (or any other amino or thiol-group carrier) using the same chemistry is a means to couple covalently to the surface. On the other hand for many applications simple non-covalent absorption to a plasma-etched polymer is sufficient to bind the ligand-layer to the polymer surface adapting know-how from the ELISA-technology. 

---