High performance liquid chromatography in the identification of human hemoglobin variants.

A description is given of the nature of column packings for reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and of the equipment that is available for HPLC procedures. HPLC methods have been applied to the identification of abnormal hemoglobins. In most instances, the variant peptide(s) is easily detected on the chromatogram. The effect of differences in column packings and developer sequences is described; modifications in either provide many means for achieving desired separations. Thus, HPLC separates peptides well and is a rapid, sensitive method for studying hemoglobin. Although the emphasis has been on the examination of peptides of abnormal hemoglobins, the procedure can be extended to other aspects such as the separation of hemoglobin chains themselves.