Disc electrophoresis of rat plasma lipoproteins.

The disc electrophoresis of lipoproteins of unfractionated rat plasma is described. The plasma was prestained with Sudan black B and electrophoretically separated at polyacrylamide gel concentrations of 7.5, 5, and 3.75%. At least four lipoprotein components were observed, and an additional 2-3 components in the main gel and 2-5 components in the spacer gel possibly were present. Densitometry of the resolved gel patterns indicated good reproducibility. Thin-layer chromatography of lipids extracted from the Sudan black B-binding components confirmed the lipoprotein nature of these components of rat plasma. A comparison of the disc electrophoretic patterns of human serum and rat plasma suggested that the low-density lipoprotein components of rat plasma are smaller in size than those of human serum.