Determination of lipoproteins by paper electrophoresis.

HE STAINING OF LIPIDS attached to serum proteins (lipoproteins) following their separation by paper electrophoresis has been a point of much discussion and investigation in the last few years. The problems involved have concerned the dye to be used, the reproducibility of the method, and the interpretation and possible quantitation of the results. Although now there is good agreement in that the dyes of choice are Sudan Black B (or its acetylated derivatives) and Oil Red 0, the tecimics for use of these dyes leave much to be desired, and the subsequent problems of interpretation and quantitation are still not adequately solved. In the course of investigations into the changes in the serum proteins and their conjugates in diabetes mellitus and in atherosclerosis, considerable attention was devoted to the development of a reproducible technic for staining lipoproteins after electrophoretic separation on paper. This technic uses Sudan Black B dissolved in a mixture of alcohols and has already been shown to be reproducible in two different laboratories. A discussion of the method and some of its attributes are presented in the following discussion.