Separation of phospholipids using a diethylaminoethyl-silica gel column and thin-layer chromatography

Phospholipids derived from egg yolk are readily separated by DEAE-silica gel column chromatography using stepwise gradient elution. The overall recovery of phospholipids from the column is 85-95% at a loading capacity of 120 mg of lipids per 10 g of DEAE-silica gel. The complete separation of eight phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine and lysophosphatidylserine; 5 micrograms each) is also achieved by one-dimensional DEAE-silica gel thin-layer chromatography with the solvent system chloroform-methanol-water-pyridine-58% ammonia solution (130:55:8:4:4, v/v).