A method for determination of archaeal ether-linked glycerolipids by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection as their 9-anthroyl derivatives

It has been described a method for determination of archaeal ether core lipids derived from 6 organisms and 2 environmental samples by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescene detection after preparation of their corresponding 9-anthroyl derivatives. The core lipids were released from glyco- and phospholipids by 3 different hydrolysis procedures. The results were compared and found that the alkaline hydrolysis procedure was preferred in the present study. The core lipids in 6 selected archaea were detected and found to be more concentrated in phospholipid fraction than in glycolipid fraction. The minimum detection limits of this method were approximately 0.5 and 2 ng for diether and tetraether, respectively, and 0.1 mg/kg, 0.4mg/kg, respectively, for environmental sample. This is compatible with gas liquid chromatographic method in terms of sensitivity and minimum detection limits.