Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / It is the purpose of this thesis to present the results of exploratory studies on the subcellular localization of human brain ganglioside. Subcellular localization have been limited to rat and guinea pig brain. In addition, data derived from five different methods for the preparation of subcellular particles are compared. Ganglioside is a generic name for a group of complex acidic glycolipids containing fatty acid, sphingosine, hexose, hexosamine, and sialic acid (n-acetyl neuraminic acid, NANA) moieties. This substance was first isolated in 1935 from the brains of children afflicted with Niemann-Pick and Tay-Sachs diseases. This glycolipid was found to differ from the chemically related cerebrosides in its solubility properties and in its red-violet color reaction in the Bial's orcinol test. The moiety of ganglioside responsible for the positive Bial's orcinol test was isolated by hydrolysis and given the name neuraminic acid. Subsequent investigators have used the concentration of n-acetyl neuraminic acid as a measure of ganglioside purity [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01