High performance preparative column chromatography of lipids using a new porous silica, Iatrobeads. I. Separation of molecular species of sphingoglycolipids.

Good preparative separation of neutral glycolipids of human erythrocytes was achieved by column chromatography using the totally porous silica spheres, Iatrobeads. The solvent flow through the Iatrobeads column was rapid under atmospheric pressure, and so elution bands migrated with minimal diffusion in the column. Ceramide dihexoside and ceramide trihexoside were both separated into two fractions of different molecular species on the Iatrobeads column. Two ceramide tetrasaccharides, globoside I and paragloboside, were also clearly separated on the Iatrobeads column. Chemical analysis showed that separation of these molecular species was due to differences in their fatty acid and long chain base compositions. Sphingadienine and phytosphingosine were found as minor components of long chain bases in human erythrocyte glycolipids.