Use of synthetic, crystalline, L-alpha-dimyristoyl lecithin in cardiolipin antigens.

Experiments were carried out by the authors to determine whether synthetic, crystalline, L-alpha-dimyristoyl lecithin could replace natural purified lecithins in the preparation of cardiolipin antigens. These experiments were designed specifically to find out whether it was possible to obtain the same serological reactions, qualitatively and quantitatively, with the test antigen as with a reference antigen containing natural lecithin, and whether the test antigen had the same keeping qualities as the reference antigen.The tests used were the quantitative complement-fixation test as modified by Mørch in 1933, and the VDRL slide flocculation test.The results showed that synthetic, crystalline, L-alpha-dimyristoyl lecithin could replace natural lecithin in the preparation of cardiolipin antigens, but that the antigens prepared with the synthetic lecithin were significantly less sensitive than those prepared with an equimolar amount of natural lecithin. The authors consider that further investigation is required before the use of synthetic lecithin is finally adopted.