Chromatographic determination of fatty acids in biological material

Abstract

Fatty acids participate in different metabolic mechanisms, but their key role is connected with their participation in membrane phospholipid organizations. This review introduces the current knowledge of fatty acid analysis with an emphasis on the analysis of these compounds in biological samples. Therefore this manuscript is focused on various aspects of biological sample preparation methods, such as lipid extraction, lipid and phospholipid fractionation (TLC and SPE), derivatization, and on the methodologies of fatty acid analysis by gas chromatography (GC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The wide spectrum of columns and detectors used in these techniques for selective separation and determination of bioactive fatty acids are discussed. The abilities of using a sensitive tandem LC/MS and GC/MS assay are also shown.

Determination of Underivatized Long Chain Fatty Acids Using HPLC with an Evaporative Light‐Scattering Detector

“…A variety of chromatographic methods have been used to analyze FA. Capillary gas-chromatography (GC) is currently the most frequently used approach for the analysis of FA [3]. However, separating carboxylated compounds by GC is complicated by their relatively high polarity and therefore it is necessary to prepare nonpolar derivatives of fatty acids which are more volatile than the free acid components.…”

Reversed phase LC/MS/MS method for targeted quantification of glycerophospholipid molecular species in plasma

“…Modern approaches for GP analysis are dominated by mass spectrometry, which is often combined with HPLC or gas chromatography, requiring transesterfication of GP FA to FA methylesters [10]. PC are commonly analysed in positive ion mode mass spectrometry due to the dominant choline fragment [11][12][13].…”

Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry of Phospholipids

“…The oldest and best characterized ionization method is electron ionization (EI). This method is still widely used for the monitoring of volatile compounds or compounds which can be easily derivatized to enhance their volatilitysuch as fatty acids (Bielawska et al 2010). Although EI is frequently used in the analysis of volatiles (often in combination with gas chromatography (GC) separation), EI is not useful for lipids because these molecules cannot be transferred into the gas phase without major fragmentation.…”