[Clinical significance of lipoprotein analysis method by HPLC]

Lipoprotein analysis methods employing high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) are divided broadly into 2 categories (HPLC with a gel-filtration column, and with an anion-exchange column), and both methods can determine lipid levels of fractionated serum lipoproteins of small amounts around 10 microl within 30 min. The former HPLC method separates lipoproteins based on the particle sizes, and larger-sized lipoproteins are eluted earlier, but this gel-filtration HPLC method determines lipid levels of lipoprotein fractions by Gaussian approximation. The latter HPLC method elutes lipoproteins based on the ion intensity of the lipoprotein particle surface and the hydrophobic properties, and determines cholesterol levels of separated lipoproteins without overlapping lipoprotein fractions. A large amount of research data on lipoprotein cholesterol levels measured using the anion-exchange HPLC method have been reported in patients with various diseases (diabetes, dyslipidemia, coronary heart disease, or chronic renal failure), and the anion-exchange HPLC method deserves a position of much greater clinical significance.