Separation and determination of lipids by one-dimensional micro-thin-layer chromatography followed by densitometry

A method is described for the rapid analysis of a mixture of phospholipids and neutral lipids, which was used for the analysis of extracts obtained from a nuclear fraction isolated from rat liver. The lipids are separated by one-dimensional thin-layer chromatography on microchromatoplates (48 X 24 mm), using three solvents for development. After spraying the plates with phosphoric acid and heating, the amount of carbon from the charred compounds is measured densitometrically. Only 2-10 microgram of lipid mixture are needed for the determination of the relative amounts of the separated compounds.