Biological detectors in liquid chromatography.

ABSTRACT

The applicability of isolated organ preparations as chromatographic detectors was demonstrated. An appropriately designed detector cell (biological detector) applicable in both on-line and off-line modes was developed. Deproteinized sera from healthy volunteers and schizophrenic patients and human amniotic fluid were fractionated by gel-permeation, ion-exchange and reversed-phase liquid chromatography. Ultraviolet absorption and biological activity were compared. The results show that isolated organ preparations selected according to the needs of particular experiments meet the essential criteria of conventional chromatographic detectors. The use of isolated organs allows the detection of biologically active substances in a matrix of physicochemically closely related, but biologically distinct, fluid components. Biological detectors may also provide valuable additional information concerning the chemical structure of biologically active agents in an early stage of isolation.