Acylglycerols containing more than three acyl groups (TAG-estolides) have been reported in plant seed oils and oil from ergot fungus. These TAG-estolides have considerable potential for industrial use, however, costs of producing synthetic TAG-estolides limits their use in largescale applications. Identification and structural characterization of additional natural sources of TAG-estolides has been restricted by their complexity and limitations of current analytical techniques. In this work, detection and characterization of TAG-estolides was optimized for use with MALDI-TOF-MS. Eight commonly used matrices were compared; 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) and 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone (THAP) gave good quality mass spectra. Matrix additives were examined and lithium was the most suitable, since MS/MS spectra of lithiated TAG-estolides provided the most informative fragmentation using an optimized method. The matrix solution pH was examined, and for THAP, replacing LiCl with 10-40 mM LiOH resulted in a slightly basic pH and significantly more intense TAG-estolide signals (up to eightfold higher). Since DHB is acidic, a larger amount of LiOH ([150 mM) was required for the matrix solution to become basic, leading to ion suppression and reduced signal intensities. Thus, for TAG-estolide analysis, THAP with *20 to 30 mM LiOH gives the highest quality spectra and the most informative MS/MS fragmentation.
KeywordsTriacylglycerol Á Estolide Á Ergot oil Á MALDI-MS Á DHB Á THAP Abbreviations AG Acylglycerol(s) CHCA a-Cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid DHB 2,5-Dihydroxybenzoic acid ESI Electrospray ionization FA Fatty acid(s) O Oleic acid (octadec-9-cis-enoic acid, 18:1) M Molecular ion MALDI Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry P Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid, 16:0) R Ricinoleic acid (12-hydroxyoctadec-9-cis-enoic acid, 18:1-OH) S/N Signal-to-noise ratio TAG Triacylglycerol(s) THAP 2,4,6-Trihydroxyacetophenone Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (