RAPID AND SENSITIVE METHOD FOR THE QUANTITATION OF NONPOLAR LIPIDS BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY AND FLUORODENSITOMETRY

Non-polar lipids were separated by high-performance thin-layer chromatography on silica gel plates and detected by use of a new reagent that induced fluorescence in the separated components. Developed thin-layer plates are dipped into a solution of sulfuric acid-ethanol-hexane (1:35:64, v/v), heated and the lipid classes are quantified by fluorescence densitometry. This technique allowed detection of certain standard lipids at the 5-ng level, is well suited for the rapid and efficient analysis of large numbers of samples and offers distinct advantages over other in situ fluorescence inducing methods. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of the non-polar lipids that occur in enzymatically hydrolyzed beef tallow.