Detection of gangliosides with the fluorochrome NBD dihexadecylamine and its application for preparative high...

A new method for the detection of gangliosides based on the lipophilic fluorescence agent 4-(N,N-dihexadecyl)amino-7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD dihexadecylamine) and its application for preparative high performance thin layer chromatography is described. Brain gangliosides were chromatographed on silica gel coated thin layer plates and located with non-destructive fluorochrome under longwave ultraviolet light. The fluorescent zones were scraped off and the gangliosides were extracted with a mixture of chloroform/methanol/water (30/60/8; v/v/v). The gangliosides were separated from uncharged NBD dihexadecylamine by anion exchange chromatography and impurities were removed by Iatrobeads chromatography. The method described offers a simple and successful preparative thin layer chromatographic strategy to obtain pure gangliosides in microgram and milligram quantities.