Purification of galactofipids by high-performance liquid chromatography for monolayer and Langmuir-Blodgett film studies

In order to obtain pure galactolipids usable for monolayer work at the nitrogen-water interface, and also for fluorescence intensity measurements in Langmuir-Blodgett films when mixed with chlorophyll a, purification procedures for mono- and digalactosyldiacylglycerol were established using high-performance liquid chromatography. The rapid and efficient methods described were applied to commercial samples and enriched extracted fractions of lipids obtained by preparative liquid chromatography. Surface pressure-area isotherms at the nitrogen-water interface of purified and unpurified samples are also reported. The fluorescence spectra of chlorophyll a mixed with purified and unpurified galactolipids in Langmuir-Blodgett films clearly show the necessity for the purification.