A simple screening method for plasma lipids by thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detection.

Thin-layer chromatography was carried out on glass rods coated with Silica gel (chromarod) and the fractions were detected with a flame ionization detector (FID). This system was applied to the fractionation and screening of plasma lipids. As the relative response of the flame ionization detector depends on the nature of the lipids, correction factors had to be introduced. These correction factors were derived from comparison of the results of the thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detection with those obtained by conventional chemical analysis of the same sample. The coefficients of variation of the lipid profiles were comparable for both techniques. The absolute lipid concentration for the various fractions obtained by combination of the concentration of the total lipids with the relative lipid profile, correlate very well with the values obtained by conventional chemical analysis of the various lipids.