Quantitative determination of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol by agarose gel electrophoresis

We have developed a procedure for the determination of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol by agarose gel electrophoresis. Only 2 micro L of sample was applied to the gel. After electrophoresis at 90 V for 35 min, an enzymatic cholesterol reagent was applied. After a 30-min incubation, the high-density lipoprotein cholesterol was quantified by densitometry. Precision for this measurment approaches that reported for the heparin-manganese/Abell-Kendall method (Clin. Chem, 25: 596--609, 1979). We evaluated accuracy by comparing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration measured by electrophoresis to that determined in the Framingham Heart Study procedure (J. Biol. Chem. 195: 357, 1952). The resulting correlation was excellent. By the paired Student's t-test, there was no significant difference between the two methods. The proposed method gives a linear standard curve when the concentration of total cholesterol is between 1.0 and 3.5 g/L. By accurate quantitation of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, agarose gel electrophoresis can aid in assessment of coronary heart disease risk for a large segment of the population.