Fractionation of chromium(III) compounds in biological matrices

Abstract

Many details of the metabolism and biological significance of trivalent inorganic cations have remained obscure up to now, not least because of the lack of appropriate tools for species analysis of these cations in biological matrices. In order to demonstrate the capabilities of reversed-phase ion-pair chromatography, the distribution of chromium species in brewer’s yeast, previously incubated with radiolabelled ⁵¹Cr chloride was investigated. Contradictory to the findings of most other researchers in this area, two low-molecular weight, anionic chromium species were detected in cytosolic yeast extracts. In conclusion, reversed-phase ion-pair chromatography may reveal new details of intracellular metabolism of chromium(III) and, possibly, other trivalent cations.