Separation of Organic Acids in Blood by Partition Chromatography

Abstract

This procedure utilizes a silicic acid column and was developed primarily for the separation of beta-hydroxybutyric and other organic acids in the blood of ruminant animals. The stationary phase is 0.5 N H2SO4, and the system of eluting solvents includes benzene, chloroform, and mixtures of tert-butanol in chloroform. Results are presented on the separation of a mixture of the following acids: n-caproic, n-valeric, n-butyric, propionic, acetic, pyruvic, formic, beta-hydroxybutyric, lactic, succinic, alpha-ketoglutaric, malonic, glycolic, oxalic, malic, citric, and isocitric. The quality of resolution is satisfactory for most of the acids, though caproic and valeric separate scarcely at all. A technique for extracting the organic acids from a protein-free blood filtrate is also presented.