Fatty Acids
Strictly, all aliphatic acids are, in fact, fatty acids, but the term has been largely restricted to designate those aliphatic acids having chain lengths greater than five (i.e., hexanoic acid and above). The term arose from the fact the first long chain fatty acids were derived from the hydrolysis of oils and fats, most fats being glycol esters of fatty acids. Fatty acids can be saturated as in stearic acid or unsaturated as in oleic acid. Fatty acids can be well separated by gas chromatography by preparing their methyl esters and using a dispersive stationary phase. They can also be separated by liquid chromatography employing an appropriate reverse phase system.
Author: RPW Scott
Book:Principles and Practice of Chromatography
Section:Principles Applications Gas-Chromatography Bacteria
15 % loading of a proprietary stationary phase and 1% of
phosphoric acid supported on 100/120 Chromosorb W AW, a processed
diatomite. The column was made of glass, 6 ft long, 4 mm I.D. and
operated isothermally at 145˚C. Helium was used as the carrier
gas at a flow rate if 60 ml/min. and 15 ml of the ether extract was injected onto the
column. The three different types of bacteria gave quite different
volatile fatty acid profiles. Furthermore it would appear that the
acid profile; could be used as a means of identification.
Courtesy of Supelco Inc.
Chromatogram provided to Supelco by K.J.
Hauser, Department of Pathology, Mount Sinai
Medical Center,
Milwaukee, WI.
Figure 40 Volatile
Fatty Acid Profiles from Different Bacteria
Principles Applications Gas-Chromatography Bacteria
Author: RPW Scott
Book:Gas Chromatography - Tandem Techniques
Section:GC-Tandem Examples Waxes-and-Lipids
were extracted with chloroform/methanol (2+1) containing 2, 6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol as an antioxidant. The extract was separated on a thin layer plate using n-hexane-diethyl ether-acetic acid (70+30+1) as a solvent. The phospholipid, triglyceride and free fatty acid spots were scraped off the plates and the lipids removed by eluting with a chloroform methanol mixture(2+1). The phospholipids and triglycerides were trans-esterified (21) using sodium methoxide in methanol and the free fatty acids were methylated with diazomethane.
It was found that for satisfactory operation the column must have a very low level of bleed. Although the use of polymer coated capillary columns would appear to be ideal for this work, the resolution was inadequate and the best stationary phase was found to be a Carbowax polymer column (polyethylene glycol). The combination of retention data with mass spectrum gave virtually unambiguous fatty acid identification.
 
GC-Tandem Examples Waxes-and-Lipids
Author: RPW Scott
Book:Gas Chromatography
Section:YES Applications Free-Fatty-Acids-from-Milk
nbsp;
Courtesy of Supelco Inc.
1/ n-Valeric Acid
2/ n-Caproic Acid
3/ n-Caprylic Acid
4/ n-Capric Acid
5/ n-Lauric Acid
6/ n-Myristic Acid
7/ n-Palmitic Acid
8/ n-Stearic Acid
9/ n-C16-1 ene
10/ n-Oleic Acid
11 /n-Linoleic Acid
12/ n-Linolenic Acid.
Figure 42. The Separation of the Free Fatty Acids
from Milk
If an external
standard is used, then the extract is merely diluted to a known volume (e.g.,
10 ml)
YES Applications Free-Fatty-Acids-from-Milk
Author: RPW Scott
Book:Gas Chromatography
Section:YES Applications Free-Fatty-Acids-from-Milk
, the FID
was held at 250 oC (50oC) above the maximum column
temperature . The sample size was 0.1 ml
which was split 100-1 onto the column and so the total charge on the column was
about 1 mg. Helium was used as the
carrier gas at a linear velocity of 20 cm/sec. The value of the open tubular
column is clearly demonstrated.
Free Fatty Acids from Milk
An example of
the use of the packed column in natural product analysis is the separation and
determination of the free fatty acids in whole milk. An example of such an
analysis is shown in figure 42. This analysis requires a rather lengthy
procedure for sample preparation but, at the same time, avoids a derivatization
procedure that can easily give incorrect, low values for the fatty acid
content. Due to their relatively high volatility, the lower fatty acids can be
lost as vapor during the procedure. Losses can also occur as a result of their
incomplete derivatization. The sample preparation developed by
YES Applications Free-Fatty-Acids-from-Milk
Author: RPW Scott
Book:The Mechanism of Chromatographic Retention
Section:Retention Chromatographic-Interactions Ionic
for terms
hydrophobic and hydrophilic, and, as such, might be considered somewhat
irrelevant. These terms stemmed from the early days of the soap industry when
soap was prepared by boiling a vegetable oil with an alkaline solution obtained
from leaching wood ash with water. The alkaline product from the wood
ash was a crude solution of sodium and potassium carbonates called lye. The result of boiling vegetable oil with the
lye was the soap (sodium and potassium salts of long-chained fatty acids)
which, due to the dispersive interactions between the fatty acid alkane chains,
separated from the lye and, consequently, was calledlyophobic. Itfollows,
thatlyophobic, is synonymous to
"hydrophobic", and thus lyophobic interactions are dispersive. The
other product from soap-making is glycerol, which, being strongly polar,
remained in the lye and was consequently termed lyophilic.
Glycerol is very polar because of its many hydroxyl groups and is completely
miscible with
Retention Chromatographic-Interactions Ionic
Author: RPW Scott
Book:Principles and Practice of Chromatography
Section:Principles Distribution-Coefficient Hydrophobic-Hydrophilic
meaning fear of lye)
and "lyophilic" (meaning love of lye) are a little more obscure. The
terms originated in the early days of the soap industry when soap was prepared
by boiling a vegetable oil with an alkaline solution obtained from leaching
'wood ash' with water. The alkaline product from the wood ash was a crude
solution of sodium and potassium carbonates called "lye". On boiling
the vegetable oil with the lye, the soap (sodium and potassium salts of
long-chained fatty acids) separated from the lye due to the dispersive
interactions between the fatty acid alkane chains and were thus called "lyophobic". It follows that
"lyophobic", from a physical chemical point of view, would be the same
as "hydrophobic", and interactions between hydrophobic and lyophobic
materials are dominantly dispersive. The other product of the soap-making
industry was glycerol, which remained in the lye and was consequently termed
"lyophilic
Principles Distribution-Coefficient Hydrophobic-Hydrophilic