Electrophoretic separation of plasma lipoproteins in agarose gel.

A method has been developed for the separation of serum or plasma lipoproteins by electrophoresis in an agarose-agar gel mixture. The gel is applied to the surface of a thin polyester photographic film strip. With minor alterations in technique either single samples on individual strips or many samples on one large sheet may be processed. After fixation and dehydration the transparent film is stained with Sudan Black B and washed with water. The finished electrophoretogram can be obtained in 5 hr and consists of widely separated bands of lipoprotein fractions on a colorless transparent background, ideally suited for scanning with a densitometer. Plasma samples from different subjects show pre-beta lipoproteins of different mobilities. An effect of gel concentration on the extent of lipoprotein migration is demonstrated. The clearcut separation of lipoproteins by this method will facilitate the classification of hyperlipoproteinemias and improve quantitative estimates of lipoprotein distribution.