Heparin has been used extensively in the clinical setting as an anticoagulant. The properties
of this polymer were first noted by McLean during his second year as a medical student at
Johns Hopkins University (McLean, 1959). While searching for a clot-promoting compound
in hepatic extracts, he inadvertantly discovered a substance which prolonged the rate of
clotting. The new anticoagulant was named “heparin,” reflecting the compound's abundance
in liver. While most of the studies performed on heparin structure and function have …