Direct methods based on (1)H NMR spectroscopic techniques have been developed for the determination of neutral lipids (triglycerides and free fatty acids) and polar lipids (glyceroglycolipids/phospholipids) in the solvent extracts of oleaginous microalgal biomasses cultivated on a laboratory scale with two species in different media. The chemical shift assignments observed in the (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra corresponding to unsaturated (C18:N, N = 1-3, C20:3, C20:5, C22:6, epoxy) and saturated (C14-C18) fatty acid ester components in a complex matrix involving overlapped resonances have been unambiguously confirmed by the application of 2D NMR spectroscopy (total correlation spectroscopy and heteronuclear single quantum coherence-total correlation spectroscopy). The study of the effect of a polar lipid matrix on the determination of neutral lipids by an internal reference blending process by a systematic designed experimental protocol has provided absolute quantification. The fatty acid composition of algal extracts was found to be similar to that of vegetable oils containing saturated (C16-C18:0) and unsaturated (C18:N, N = 1-3, C20:N, N = 3-4, C22:6) fatty acids as confirmed by NMR spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses. The NMR methods developed offer great potential for rapid screening of algal strains for generation of algal biomass with the desired lipid content, quality, and potential for biodiesel and value-added polyunsaturated fatty acids in view of the cost economics of the overall cost of generation of the biomass.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

In the present work, a new method based on 1 H NMR spectroscopy has been developed for the estimation of total aromatics and their distribution as mono-and polynuclear (di-ring plus) aromatics in diesel-range fuel products. Multipulse NMR techniques such as, distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer and 2-dimensional heteronuclear correlation have been applied for the unambiguous assignment of the 2.0-3.5 ppm region due to R-substituents on the aromatic ring in the 1 H NMR spectra. The estimation of polynuclear aromatics is based on the estimation of bridgehead aromatic (Ar b ) and substituted aromatic (Ar q ) carbons using equations developed. The proposed 1 H NMR-based method correlates very well with the standard IP-391/ 90-and mass-spectrometric-based method (R 2 ) 0.99).