Liquid chromatographic procedure for fermentation product analysis in the identification of anaerobic bacteria.

High-performance liquid chromatography with a cation-exchange resin-packed column was used to determine fermentation products of several known and unknown Clostridium species. The column was operated at 30 degrees C, and isocratic elution was done with 0.013 N H(2)SO(4). Sample preparation for high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis required only membrane filtration. Glucose and formate were readily determined. Quantitative results were easily obtained. Chromatograms of eight unknown strains could be matched with chromatograms of at least one of the type culture strain chromatograms. In some cases, additional testing was necessary before identification could be made. The same conclusions were reached by parallel testing with gas chromatography to determine fermentation products. High-performance liquid chromatography is simple to apply and, under some conditions, is faster than gas chromatography for fermentation product analysis.