A METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF LIPID-BOUND SIALIC-ACID AFTER CHROMATOGRAPHIC ISOLATION OF BRAIN GANGLIOSIDES

The lipid-bound sialic acid determination gives an indirect idea of th e ganglioside composition. An attempt at adapting the 'resorcinol meth od' of Svennerholm using thin-layer chromatography is described in thi s article. An aliquot of a lipid extract from bovine brain was chromat ographed and the ganglioside carrying area was visualised. The sorbent was scrapped and eluted. The sialic acid was hydrolysed with a mixtur e of resorcinol/hydrochloric acid and the color product formed was ext racted with butanol/butylacetate. The color intensity was measured at 580 nm. It was found that the lipid-bound sialic acid in bovine brain was about 780 mu g/g fresh tissue. The recovery data calculated by mea ns of a standart solution were 97-102%. This method is particularly us eful for some routine diagnostic studies.