The paper describes a procedure involving thin layer chromatography on silica impregnated with silver nitrate, which makes possible the separation of synthetic and natural glyceride mixtures into classes according to their degree of unsaturation, and within those classes the resolution of certain isomeric unsaturated glycerides. The separations depend upon the ability of compounds having an olefinic double bond to form co‐ordination complexes with the silver ion.
For qualitative analysis, developed chromatoplates are sprayed with dibromofluorescein. Reliable quantitative data may be obtained by charring the separated glycerides with phosphoric acid under carefully controlled conditions, and comparing the densities of the charred areas by means of a photodensitometer. Experiments with mixtures of pure synthetic glycerides revealed an error of less than 3%.
Glyceride compositions of a number of natural fats have been determined, and compared with compositions obtained by enzymetic hydrolysis of the same samples.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.