Celite multi-column chromatography for the simultaneous separation of progesterone, deoxycorticosterone and 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone from small plasma or tissue samples.

A rapid, inexpensive and reliable chromatographic method has been developed for the simultaneous separation of progesterone, deoxycorticosterone and 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone on 15-cm Celite columns using n-heptane-benzene-methanol-water (100:35:80:20) as mobile phase. Six columns can be run in parallel within an hour with the assistance of nitrogen pressure. There is negligible column-to-column or batch-to-batch variation with consistent high recoveries. Columns are easily and quickly prepared and being inexpensive are disposable which is important when working with radioactivity. Using this method three important corticosteroids can be rapidly and reliably isolated from 20-30 small plasma or tissue samples per day.