Dialysis of isolated low density lipoprotein induces a loss of lipophilic antioxidants and increases the susceptibility to oxidation in vitro.

We determined the effects of different dialysis conditions on the antioxidant content, duration of the lag phase and oxidation rate of LDL. Dialysis for 22 h resulted in a 56%--66% reduction in the concentrations of beta-carotene, lycopene and alpha-tocopherol. The lag phase of copper-induced oxidation of freshly isolated LDL was considerably longer than that of LDL dialysed for 22 or 44 h. Our data show that dialysis may result in LDL preparations with antioxidant compositions that are not truly representative of freshly isolated lipoproteins.