Quantitative analysis of lipid classes

Abstract

Common techniques of lipid class analysis are briefly reviewed and a general procedure for extraction, fractionation, and analysis of these compounds is described. The method entails extraction of the tissues with chloroform-methanol and fractionation of the lipid by acid-washed Florisil chromatography. Neutral and polar lipid fractions are analyzed separately. Important aspects of the use of the charring-densitometric technique for quantitative analysis are demonstrated. Methods involving application of specific analytical techniques to compounds isolated by a combination of column or thin-layer chromatography, or both, are also briefly reviewed. A procedure is described for the quantitative degradation of glycerophosphatides and gas chromatography of triacetin derived from the glycerol moiety of these compounds. The method is also applicable to glycolipids and sphingolipids and is suggested as a means for the quantitative analysis of these compounds as well as glycerophosphatides.