Separation and molecular characterization of mycolic acid from the cell wall skeleton of Mycobacterium bovis BCG Tokyo 172 (SMP-105) and BCG substrains by normal-phase high performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Since mycolic acids, the most characteristic major lipid component in mycobacterial cell envelopes, play pivotal roles in the cell surface-based host immune responses, normal-phase HPLC has been developed to quantify and identify mycolic acids of the cell wall skeleton from Mycobacterium bovis BCG Tokyo 172 (SMP-105).