Characterization of nucleotides and nucleosides by pyrolysis-gas chromatography

Differentiation of Salmonella Serotypes by pyrolysis-gas-liquid chromatography of cell fragments

Pyrolysis-gas-liquid chromatography (PGLC) of whole cells and cell fragments was used to differentiate 10 Salmonella serotypes. Lyophilized samples (200 microgram) of whole cells, cell walls, flagella, and deoxyribonucleic acid from each serotype were analyzed in duplicate by PGLC. Pyrochromatograms recorded as pyrolytic elution patterns represented thermal fragmentation products of the samples. Mathematical expressions of percent similarity and percent conformity were calculated for all possible pair combinations of the 10 serotypes. Stepwise discriminant analysis of the PGLC data showed that 100 percent correct classification of the 10 serotypes was possible from the flagella or deoxyribonucleic acid pyrochromatograms. The classification matrix of the whole-cell data showed a 90 percent correct classification. PGLC of cell fragments may provide useful information for taxonomic studies of Salmonella and other microorganisms.

Pyrolysis-gas-liquid chromatography of fungi: differentiation of species and strains of several members of the Aspergillus flavus group

Four fungi of the Aspergillus flavus group were differentiated to the species level and strain level by pyrolysis-gas-liquid chromotography. Comparisons of pyrochromatograms revealed more similarities than dissimilarities among both species and strains in the pyrolytic elution patterns. Quantitative analysis was made by comparing the number of peaks in which two strains or reference species agreed or disagreed, the degree of superimposability between the pyrolytic elution patterns of strains and reference species, and the presence or absence of peaks for strain pairs within each species. The accuracy and precision of these techniques suggest that pyrolysis-gas-liquid chromatography may have wide application in the detection, enumeration, and identification of fungi by nonmycologically trained personnel.