ZONE ELECTROPHORESIS OF ACID MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDES

Abstract

Sensitive stains for acid mucopolysaccharides on filter paper have been devised based on the use of either methylene blue or Alcian blue. The electrophoretic migration of hyaluronate, chondroitin-4-sulphate, and heparin in paper followed the Helmholtz–Smoluchowski law for times up to 16 hours and potential gradients up to 3 volts per cm. Under these conditions, the mobility depended upon the ionic strength and component ions of the electrolyte, the width of the strip, and the volume, concentration, and degree of polymerization of the acid mucopolysaccharide. Good separations of mixtures of acid mucopolysaccharides have been achieved, using lithium sulphate or lithium acetate – acetic acid buffer of ionic strength 0.10, on paper strips and rubber sponges as well as by continuous flow electrophoresis. Analysis of the paper strip may provide a sensitive test of the homogeneity of the polysaccharide.