Separation of acidic and neutral lipids by aminopropyl-bonded silica gel column chromatography

The separation of acidic and neutral lipids by aminopropyl-bonded silica gel column chromatography is presented. Total lipid extracts from Escherichia coli and human spermatozoa were loaded onto pre-packed aminopropyl-bonded silica gel columns and the lipids separated into four fractions. Non-polar lipids including cholesterol esters, triglycerides, diglycerides, monoglycerides and cholesterol, were eluted with 4 ml of isopropanol-chloroform (1:2, v/v) (fraction 1); free fatty acids were eluted with 4 ml of 2% acetic acid in diethyl ether (fraction 2); neutral polar lipids, including phosphophatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and neutral glycolipids, were eluted with 4 ml of methanol (fraction 3); and, finally, polar acidic lipids, including phosphatidylglycerol, cardiolipin, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine, seminolipid lipid A and acidic glycosphingolipids, were eluted with 4 ml of chloroform-methanol-0.8 M sodium acetate (60:30:4.5, v/V/V) (fraction 4). The recoveries for the different lipids ranged between 89 and 98% and the intra-assay variation, expressed as the standard deviation, was less than 5%.