Separation of gangliosides by anion-exchange chromatography on Mono Q

A new type of strong anion-exchange resin, Mono Q, has been used in the separation of brain gangliosides. The resin consists of monodisperse particles (9.8 micron) and was used in prepacked columns with a bed volume of 1 ml. The gangliosides were separated into mono-, di-, tri- and tetrasialoganglioside fractions by a discontinuous gradient of potassium acetate in methanol. The separation was complete in a volume of 50 ml. The major advantages of the new procedure compared to conventional methods are the shorter separation time, higher loading capacity and recovery of separated ganglioside fractions in small solvent volumes. The procedure was applied to the separation of gangliosides from normal human and GM2-gangliosidosis brain.