Elimination of silica gel from gangliosides by using a reversed-phase column after preparative thin-layer chromatography.

A simple and effective procedure has been developed for eliminating silica gel from gangliosides after preparative thin-layer chromatography. Gangliosides were extracted from the scraped silica gel with chloroform-methanol-water 10:10:3 (by volume) and dried. The residue was suspended in 0.1 M NaCl and centrifuged. After filtration through a sintered glass funnel, the supernatant was applied to a reversed-phase column. The column was washed with 0.1 M NaCl, water, and methanol-water 1:1 (v/v). Gangliosides were eluted from the cartridge with methanol with yields of 92% and 90% in terms of dry weight and sialic acid content, respectively. Almost all of the silica gel contamination was eliminated from gangliosides by this procedure.