Dextran sulfates are widely used in biomedical and laboratory applications due to their anticoagulant and polyanionic properties. They are commonly employed in cell culture and molecular biology to study inflammation, viral infection, and immune responses, as they can mimic the structure of cellular glycosaminoglycans. In research, dextran sulfates are used to induce experimental models of colitis in animals for studying inflammatory bowel disease. They also serve as stabilizing agents in some diagnostic reagents and are utilized in chromatography for the separation of proteins and other biomolecules. Additionally, their ability to bind to various proteins and receptors makes them useful in drug delivery systems and as inhibitors in virology studies, particularly for enveloped viruses.