A Review of “Determination of Diagnostically Important Free and Conjugated Bile
Acids in Blood Plasma by high Performance Liquid Chromatography”
Zelenkova, N.F.; Leont’evskii, A.A. Determination of Diagnostically Important Free and
Conjugated Bile Acids in Blood Plasma by high Performance Liquid
Chromatography. Journal of Analytical Chemistry. [Online] 2009, 65 (2), 183187. http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.ycp.edu:8000/ehost/ pdfviewer/
pdfviewer?sid=41995170-f662-4adb-86b5-25a8b3d30651%
40sessionmgr13&vid=1&hid=14 (accessed Mar 4, 2012).
Rachel Klein
March 5, 2012
Analytical chemistry instruments are used to find different macromolecules in
biology, specifically in a medical diagnosis. Gas chromatography and liquid
chromatography are extremely useful for separating out biological matter samples into
specific components. These techniques are extremely useful for finding chemicals such as
fats, proteins, bile acids, and sugars. After determining the amount of chemical in the
sample a diagnosis can be made if there is a disease present. HPLC was used in the
experiment to test bile acids in blood samples; it was used because HPLC is extremely
specific and it is also time efficient. After the bile acid was extracted and purified from
the blood sample, HPLC was performed which used a UV-detector. The columns that
were used in the HPLC were packed with reverse-phased adsorbents. First, the HPLC
method was used to determine different levels of conjugated acids. Second, blood plasma
samples were run through the HPLC and accurate levels of the standards were obtained.
The HPLC proved to be a reliable method for accurately quantifying the amount of bile
acid in blood samples.
The writing in this article was understandable and made the article easy to read.
The tables were organized and explained well. Using the HPLC method was the best
method to use because in the experiment, they were testing a specific component of the
blood and they were looking for how much of the bile acid was in it. HPLC accomplished
these two factors because the HPLC was set to specific parameters to identify the bile
acid. The HPLC is also the fastest method to quantify how much bile acid was in the
sample. However, there are other methods that could have been used. Gas
chromatography could also we used to identify different components in the blood
samples. The blood samples would have to be differentiated into a volatile substance for
the GC to work properly, and the GC would separate out the different components.
However, the GC would not specifically quantify the bile acid and this test method takes
a longer time to complete. Gel electrophoresis could have also been used to identify
specific proteins in the blood samples. The sample would be separated out by electrical
current and specific parts of the sample would be separated. The disadvantage of this
method is that it would also not specifically quantify the different components of the
sample.
Gas chromatography and gel electrophoresis are two alternative methods that
could have been used to identify bile acid in conjugated blood samples. The disadvantage
to these two methods is that they do not specifically quantify how much bile acid in the
sample and also they are more time consuming and this would be a disadvantage when a
doctor is trying to quickly diagnosis a patient. HPLC was the best method to use because
it is time efficient and also specifically quantifies bile acid.