Isolation and preliminary characterization of a fraction of bilirubin in serum that is firmly bound to protein.

We have isolated from pathological sera a bilirubin fraction (delta) that is very tightly, if not covalently, bound to protein, most likely albumin. This delta fraction absorbed at a lambda max of 433 nm in the visible spectrum, between the lambda max of unconjugated (alpha) and that of conjugated (Bc) bilirubin when measured in solutions containing albumin. However, unlike the other bilirubin species, this fraction could not be separated from the proteins in serum by exhaustive ultrafiltration in the presence of caffeine/benzoate solution. In the Jendrassik-Grof diazo procedure for bilirubin analysis, the delta fraction gave a large direct reaction (76-89% of the total reaction). Yet, when relatively hydrophobic azo dyes were formed by reaction of the delta fraction with the diazonium salt of dichloroaniline, only 50% of the dyes were extractable from aqueous solution. On chromatography the rest remained associated with protein. Of the extractable dye, more than 70% was accounted for by two liquid-chromatographic peaks with retentions identical with those of azo dyes formed from unconjugated bilirubin. This delta fraction was not appreciably separated from protein by treatment with strong acid or base, or by prolonged digestion with various enzymes. Finally, in a highly denaturing solvent (urea/mercaptoethanol), this fraction was not dialyzable through a membrane with a 12 000-dalton cutoff.