Quantitative analysis of brain gangliosides by high performance liquid chromatography of their perbenzoyl derivatives

This report describes a convenient, highly sensitive, and reproducible HPLC procedure for the quantitative analysis of gangliosides from brain tissues. The procedure involves the conversion of gangliosides to their perbenzoyl derivatives, isolation of the derivatives on a C18-reversed-phase cartridge, separation of the derivatives on a column (3-micron silica) maintained at an elevated temperature, and UV detection of the derivatives at 230 nm. The convenience of the procedure, its sensitivity, reproducibility, and application to the analysis of gangliosides from tissue sources make it the method of choice for ganglioside quantification in our laboratories. Three aspects of the procedure contribute to its convenience: reaction conditions that lead to single products, a convenient isolation procedure for the derivatives, and chromatographic conditions that provide resolution of the derivatives.     

Quantitative analysis of monosialogangliosides by high-performance liquid chromatography of their perbenzoyl derivatives

A quantitative high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the analysis of monosialogangliosides as their perbenzoyl derivatives has been devised. Samples containing as little as 3 nmol were converted to their perbenzoyl derivatives by reaction with 0.1 ml of 10% benzoyl chloride in pyridine at 60 degrees C for 1 hr. The products were purified by silicic acid chromatography and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The HPLC analysis was performed with a 50 cm X 2.1 mm LiChrosphere SI 4000 column and a linear gradient of 7-23% dioxane in hexane in 18 min. Detection was at 230 nm. The detector response was found to be proportional to the amount of monosialoganglioside analyzed. As little as 50 pmol of injected material could be conveniently quantitated. The overall yield from derivatization and chromatography, as determined with radiolabeled GM1, was found to be 86%. To take advantage of the high sensitivity of the HPLC, a small-scale isolation method for gangliosides was devised. This method coupled with HPLC isotope dilution analysis was used to analyze the GM3 content of 1 ml of human plasma.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of neutral glycosphingolipids as their per-O-benzoyl derivatives

Previous reports from this laboratory (1–4) described the perbenzoylation of neutral glycosphingolipids (GSL)¹ with benzoyl chloride in pyridine and analysis of the perbenzoylated derivatives by high performance liquid chromatography (hplc). A disadvantage of this procedure is that N-benzoylation occurs as well as the desired O-benzoylation. This does not permit recovery of the parent GSL after mild alkaline hydrolysis due to formation of a mixture of N-acylated and N-benzoylated GSLs(1). It has also been demonstrated that the benzoylation with benzoic anhydride in pyridine does not lead to the formation of N-benzoylated products. However, the anhydride reaction is sluggish and the benzoyl chloride method has been the preferred procedure.Gupta et al. (5) used N,N-dimethyl-4 amino pyridine (DMAP) as a catalyst in the acylation of phospholipids by the anhydrides of fatty acids. F. B. Jungalwala (private communication) has shown that this catalyst greatly accelerates the reaction of benzoic anhydride with sulfatides.In this communication we report the preparation and hplc analysis of per-O-benzoyl derivatives of GSLs by reaction with benzoic acid anhydride in the presence of DMAP as a catalyst. Reaction with these reagents avoids amide acylation, forms single products with satisfactory chromatographic properties and parent GSLs can be regenerated by mild alkaline hydrolysis.     

Fractionation of fecal neutral steroids by high performance liquid chromatography

Fecal neutral steroids were fractionated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) into three major fractions: 5 beta-H, 3-keto steroids; 5 beta-H, 3 beta-hydroxy steroids; and 5 alpha-H and delta 5-3 beta-hydroxy steroids. This separation was achieved in about 10 minutes, with greater than 97% recovery of standards in each fraction. Gas-liquid chromatographic quantitation of fecal steroids fractionated by either HPLC or thin-layer chromatography gave nearly identical results. A method using both C18 reverse phase and silica HPLC to purify radiolabeled sterols is also described.     

Separation of derivatized glycosphingolipids into individual molecular species by high performance liquid chromatography

The high performance liquid chromatography separation of the perbenzoyl derivatives of the neutral glycosphingolipids (GlcCer, LacCer, GbOse3Cer, GbOse4Cer, and GgOse3Cer) and the p-bromophenacyl and 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazide derivatives of the gangliosides (GM4, GM3, GM2, GM1, GD1a) into individual molecular species on a C18 reversed-phase column is described. Peaks were identified by comparing their relative retention times to the relative retention time of the corresponding glycosphingolipid of known molecular species composition. As little as 5 to 10 pmol of each molecular species of neutral glycosphingolipids and 3 to 5 pmol of the gangliosides can be detected. The effects of changes in the proportion of acetonitrile, methanol, and water in the mobile phase and of column temperature on the molecular species separation are described. A procedure for the tentative identification of glycosphingolipid molecular species based on their relative retention times is presented.     

One-step fractionation of neutral and acidic glycosphingolipids by high-performance liquid chromatography

A procedure for a simultaneous separation of ganglioside components and neutral glycolipid components by high-performance liquid chromatography was described. One column packed with DEAE-derivatized controlled-pore glass (DEAE-CPG) was serially connected to two columns of underivatized, controlled-pore glass (CPG). A mixture of gangliosides and neutral glycolipids were loaded on DEAE-CPG and eluted with a mixture of chloroform-methanol-water, with increasing methanol and water (the first-phase gradient elution), followed by elution with increasing concentrations lithium acetate from 0.015 to 0.1 M in a mixture of chloroform-methanol-water (the second-phase gradient elution). Neutral glycolipids, mono- to hexaglycosylceramides , were separated within 80 min of the first-phase gradient elution, and mono- to tetrasialosylgangliosides were separated during the second-phase gradient elution within 60 min. The method has been applied to the determination of glycolipids isolated from rat tissues, and the procedure was found to be highly reproducible.     

Separation of molecular species of glucosylceramide by high performance liquid chromatography of their benzoyl derivatives.

The method of separation of glucosylceramide by HPLC was reported. Glucosylceramide was perbenzoylated and separated on a packed muBondapack C18 column, using methanol as eluting solvent. The pattern obtained by HPLC closely resembled that obtained by GLC of the TMS-glucosylceramide, and reflected the molecular species of fatty acid components. This method is reproducible, and sensitive as GLC. This method also can be used for analysis of higher glycolipids.     

Quantitative analysis of rifampicin and 25-desacetylrifampicin in the plasma using high performance liquid chromatography

A procedure for determination of rifampicin and 25-desacetylrifampicin in plasma by HPLC was developed. The plasma proteins are precipitated by acetonitrile and the supernatant layer (50 microliters) is used for the assay under isocratic conditions on an analytical column 250 x 4.6 mm in size containing the reversed phase sorbent (C18). The size of the precolumn is 50 x 4.6 mm. An UV detector (at lambda 335 nm) is used. For preparing the mobile phase 630 ml of methanol and 370 ml of 0.058 M sodium nitrite solution are mixed. The flow rate of the mobile phase is 40.7 ml/min. The assay duration is about 10 min. The retention time is 9.6 min for rifampicin and 6.5 min for 25-desacetylrifampicin. The minimum detectable amount of the antibiotic and its metabolite is 0.10 micrograms/ml. The standard curves of rifampicin and 25-desacetylrifampicin are linear within the concentration ranges of 0.5-100 and 0.5-10 micrograms/ml respectively. The procedure is useful in studies on pharmacokinetics of rifampicin and 25-desacetylrifampicin.     

High-performance liquid chromatography of long-chain neutral glycosphingolipids and gangliosides

We describe a method for analyzing the perbenzoyl derivatives of both neutral glycosphingolipids and gangliosides with a single high-performance liquid chromatography system. Use of this system, combined with endo- and/or exoglycosidase treatment of glycosphingolipids, provides a sensitive method for obtaining structural information on these compounds. This system has two advantages over previously published chromatography procedures: (i) it uses a commercially available column, and (ii) this single column can be used to analyze gangliosides and their neutral glycosphingolipid products generated by neuraminidase treatment. With this method, we have studied 24 different glycosphingolipids, containing one to ten sugars and one or two sialic acid residues, and have demonstrated its usefulness in evaluating the gangliosides present in human leukocytes.     

Quantitative analysis of neutral glycosphingolipids from human lymphocyte subpopulations.

The glycosphingolipids of normal human lymphocytes from individual donors were analysed by high-pressure liquid chromatography. In addition, purified T- and B-lymphocytes were examined separately. Lactosylceramide was shown to be the major neutral glycosphingolipid in human lymphocytes, and monohexosylceramide, trihexosylceramide, globoside and paragloboside were all detected in smaller amounts. Analysis of purified B- and T-cell fractions revealed that each of these populations contained a similar qualitative profile for neutral glycosphingolipids, but that quantitatively, B-cells contained several times more of each glycosphingolipid per cell than did T-cells.     

An improved technique for separation of neutral glycosphingolipids by high-performance liquid chromatography

We have developed a high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) procedure for separation of O-acetyl-N-p-nitrobenzoyl derivatives of six neutral glycosphingolipids: glucosylceramide, lactosylceramide, globotriaosylceramide, lactotriaosylceramide, globotetraosylceramide, and neolactotetraosylceramide. The recoveries of glucosylceramide and globotetraosylceramide for the derivatization procedure and HPLC analysis were approximately 75%, and one nanomole of glycolipid could be detected. The procedure was used for analysis of human erythrocyte neutral glycolipids.     

Analysis of sofalcone in human plasma by high performance liquid chromatography

A simple, rapid, sensitive and reliable high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the determination of the anti-ulcer drug sofalcone in human plasma was developed. Plasma was extracted with ethyl acetate under acidic conditions and sofalcone was determined by HPLC using a C18 column and (methanol-0.1% formic acid aqueous 80:20) mobile phase. The linear calibration curves of sofalcone in human plasma were obtained over the concentration range of 0.01-5.0 microg/ml. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was 10 ng/ml in human plasma. The precision measured for plasma was within 15%. Extraction recovery was over 85% in blood. The method was successfully applied to the identification and quantification of sofalcone in pharmacokinetic studies.     

Determination of puerarin in human plasma by high performance liquid chromatography

Puerarin, an isoflavone C-glycoside, has been identified as the major active component isolated from Pueraria lobata (Kudzu) responsible for suppression of alcohol drinking. In order to conduct clinical studies of Kudzu's efficacy, a method for measuring its bioavailability and pharmacokinetic profile is needed. We have developed a gradient reversed-phase HPLC system for pharmacokinetic study of puerarin in human plasma. Solid-phase extraction was performed on an abselut Nexus cartridge (60 mg/3 ml) possessing adsorbent function with a recovery of >97% and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid was used as an internal standard. The HPLC assay was performed on a YMC ODS-A column (150 mm x 4.6mm i.d., 5 microm particle size). The HPLC mobile phase consisted of methanol/0.5% acetic acid with 20-35% methanol gradient at a flow-rate of 0.8 ml/min. The UV wavelength was set at 254 nm. Calibration of the overall analytical procedure gave a linear signal (r>0.999) over a puerarin concentration range of 5-500 ng/ml in human plasma. The lower limit of quantification was ca. at 8 ng/ml of puerarin in plasma. The detection limit (defined as signal-to-noise ratio of about 3) was approximately 3 ng/ml. The preliminary pharmacokinetic study after oral administration of the Kudzu capsules containing 400mg of puerarin to a healthy volunteer confirmed that the present method was suitable for determining puerarin in human plasma.     

Separation and quantitation of polyamines in plant tissue by high performance liquid chromatography of their dansyl derivatives

High performance liquid chromatography in combination with fluorescence spectrophotometry can be used to separate and quantitate polyamines (putrescine, cadaverine, spermidine, spermine), prepared as their dansyl derivatives, from plant tissue. The procedure gives sensitive and consistent results for polyamine determinations in plant tissue. In a standard mixture, the minimal detection level was less than 1 picomole of polyamines.     

Localization of neutral glycosphingolipids in human plasma.

1. The localization of the neutral glycosphingolipids glucosylceramide, lactosylceramide, trihexosylceramide and globoside in human plasma was investigated. Glycosphingolipids were isolated and analysed by gas-liquid chromatography. 2. After Sephadex gel chromatography of human plasma, about 75% of the glycosphingolipids were found in the fraction containing most of the lipoproteins. 3. After fractionation of the lipoproteins by ionic precipitation, 15-25% of each glycosphingolipid was found in the very low-density lipoprotein + chylomicron fraction, 30-45% in the low density lipoprotein fraction and 40-50% in the high density lipoprotein fraction. 4. After fractionation of lipoproteins by density-gradient ultracentrifugation, 15% of each glycosphingolipid was found in the very low-density lipoprotein + chylomicron fraction and 85% in the low density and high density lipoprotein fractions. No glycosphingolipids could be detected in the ultracentrifugal residue which contains the bulk of the albumin.     

Separation of neutral glycosphingolipids and sulfatides by thin-layer chromatography

Two one-dimensional systems for separation of glycolipids from total lipid extracts of tissues by thin-layer chromatography are described. System I used, as adsorbent, an alkaline mixture of silica gel without CaSO(4) binder (75%) and magnesium silicate (25%), and the lipids were "developed" with three successive solvent mixtures. The separated compounds (from the fastest to the slowest moving) were: ceramide, ceramide monohexosides, sulfatides, ceramide dihexosides, psychosine, ceramide trihexosides, and ceramide N-acetylhexosamine trihexosides. In system II a two-step development was used on an adsorbent consisting of silica gel without CaSO(4) binder (80%) and magnesium silicate (20%). The separated compounds were: ceramides, ceramide monohexosides, and ceramide dihexosides. Psychosine and sulfatides as well as ceramide trihexosides and ceramide N-acetylhexosamine trihexosides were not separated. In both systems all neutral lipids moved to the very top of the chromatogram and phospholipids stayed at the origin. Application of systems I and II for separation of glycolipids was demonstrated on total lipid extracts from animal tissues.     

Purification of integral plasma membrane proteins by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography

Following dissolution in anhydrous trifluoroacetic acid, plasma membrane isolated from two eukaryotic species was directly injected onto a reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatograph column. Upon development with a 60 to 100% (v/v) linear gradient of ethanol containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid, most of the polypeptides eluted without retention. Only the lipids and very hydrophobic proteins were retained and resolved. Most noticeable among retained proteins was the Mr 100,000 catalytic polypeptide of each species' primary plasma membrane cation pump, the Na+,K+-ATPase of pig kidney and the H+-ATPase of Neurospora crassa hyphae. This simple 60-min procedure yielded nearly pure ATPase starting from crude membranes and in a completely volatile solvent, without detergent. When fungal plasma membranes were phosphorylated in vitro with [gamma-32P]ATP prior to injection, protein kinase activity was observed and this resulted in the phosphorylation of the H+-ATPase as well as of several other less-abundant hydrophobic membrane proteins. This procedure is useful as an alternative method for the rapid characterization of those membrane-associated polypeptides that contain several hydrophobic, transmembrane sequences.     

Quantitative determination of amino acids in tissue cells by high performance liquid chromatography

Amino acids derivatized with o-phthaldialdehyde were separated by high performance liquid chromatography on a reverse phase C8 column with a ternary gradient. Multilevel calibration permits the analytical quantitation within the range of 50 to 3500 pMol of the individual amino acids in one run. The reproducibility of the analysis in consecutive runs is ± 3%. HeLa cells grown in suspension cultures were harvested by either centrifugation in the cold or by centrifugation through dibutylphthalate. Amino acids were extracted with methanol-water. Cells not exposed to aqueous media prior to extraction show an up to 3 fold higher level of amino acids in the intracellular pool.