Determination of sulphated disaccharides from chondroitin sulphates by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A sensitive method for the determination of chondroitin 4- and 6-sulphate is presented. After chondroitinase digestion of the chondroitin sulphate preparations, the obtained disaccharides are separated on a weak anion-exchange resin in a high-performance liquid chromatography system. The method was used to study 4-sulphate to 6-sulphate ratios in chondroitin sulphates prepared from bovine nasal cartilage and human nucleus pulposus. The results show clearly that these two preparations contain considerable amounts of both isomers.