[Isolation of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine from the bull heart]

A novel efficient procedure based on silica gel column chromatography has been developed for isolating chromatographically pure diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine. For this purpose the lipid extract is treated with aqueous MgCl2, whereas aqueous ammonia is added to the eluent systems. To raise the yield of lipids, a fractional loading of columns with portions of lipid extracts is employed, each loading being followed by partial elution of neutral lipids with chloroform. Optimal phospholipid--silica gel ratio is 1:20 for such a procedure. The presence of cation exchange between the lipid extract and silica gel is confirmed and its influence on the efficacy of phospholipid separation is discussed.