Characterization of electrophoretic lipoprotein fractions: immunochemical and electron microscopic studies.

To improve the characterization of electrophoretic lipoprotein subfractions, we developed two new techniques for analyzing lipoproteins after electrophoresis on thin agarose layers. Overlay with antisera exactly localizes specific apoproteins without any distortion caused by antigen diffusion; electron microscopyof eluted fractions determines the varying particle-size distribution. Applied together, these methods can detect individual differences between hyperlipemic samples that are not immediately apparent in the electrophoretic pattern, and should provide valuable new insight into the classification of hyperlipoproteinemias.