Luminescence response of an osmium(II) complex to macromolecular polyanions for the detection of heparin and chondroitin sulfate in biomedical preparations

•Heparin and other polyanions enhance the luminescence of Os(II) complex.•Highly sulfated dextran sulfate and ι-carrageenan have the most enhancing effect.•Dextran sulfate contamination of the heparin at 5% can be detected.•Fast and sensitive detection of heparin in commercial injectable samples.•Fast and sensitive detection of chondroitin sulfate food supplement tablets. Heparin, dextran sulfate (DS), chondroitin sulfate (CS), and carrageenan are found to enhance the luminescence intensity of an osmium(II) carbonyl complex with phenanthroline (phen) and 4-phenylpyridine (4-phpy) ligands in aqueous and ethanol solutions. The enhancing effect of the polyanions on the luminescence of the complex is heavily dependent on the sulfate content and other factors such as structure, solubility, and counter ions of the polyanion. The highly sulfated dextran and ι-carrageenan have the most profound effect, while the low charged κ-carrageenan and CS have the least response in aqueous solution. All polyanions exhibited enhanced luminescence intensity of the complex in ethanol solutions, and even the low charged CS and κ-carrageenan enhanced the luminescence more than 4 times. DS contamination of the sodium heparin at 5% can show a significant increase in luminescence response. The osmium complex is found to be highly successful in the fast and sensitive detection of heparin in commercial injectable samples with various backgrounds as well as the detection of CS in over the counter food supplement tablets.