r-Hirudin (from yeast)

Hirudin is the most potent and specific thrombin inhibitor known. Hirudin can be utilised for many analytical and preparative purposes in hemostaseological test procedures as well as in blood and plasma fractionation to prevent the multiple enzymatic and non-enzymatic actions of thrombin. Hirudin may be added to test mixtures to exclude undesired thrombin actions due to contaminations of reagents with prothrombin or with prothrombin activators. Hirudin is used to selectively inhibit thrombin in certain assay conditions when cross-reactivity of thrombin and the chosen enzyme should lead to cleavage of the chromogenic substrate.