Gas chromatography of fatty acids.

Lipids in foods contain a wide variety of fatty acids differing in chain length, degree of unsaturation, position and configuration of double bonds and the presence of special functional groups. Modern capillary gas chromatography offers excellent separation of fatty acids. Fused-silica capillary columns with stationary phases of medium polarity and non-polar methylsilicone stationary phases successfully separate most of the natural fatty acids. Special applications, such as the separation of complex cis-trans fatty acid mixtures and cyclic fatty acids, required particular chromatographic conditions, including the use of very long capillary columns or more polar stationary phases. The derivatization methods for the preparation of fatty acid esters also need to be optimized to obtain accurate quantitative results. This paper reviews the derivatization techniques, capillary columns and stationary phases commonly used in the gas chromatography of fatty acids in food.     

Development and validation of a method for measuring the glycine and taurine conjugates of bile acids in bile by high-performance liquid chromatography

We developed and validated a simple method for measuring the individual glycine and taurine conjugates of bile acids in bile by high-performance liquid chromatography with a C18 reversed-phase column using an isocratic solvent system of acidified methanol--potassium phosphate. Without preliminary derivatization or purification, complete separation of the ten major conjugated bile acids present in bile could be achieved in 65 min. Total bile acid concentrations were identical when measured enzymatically and by summing the individual bile acids determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Bile acid composition determined by gas-liquid chromatography correlated with results by high-performance liquid chromatography. Finally, measurements of individual glycine and taurine conjugates in human bile and in mixtures of bile acid standards by high-performance liquid chromatography and thin-layer chromatography gave similar results. This high-performance liquid chromatographic system permits simultaneous quantification of total and individual bile acids and their glycine and taurine conjugates in bile.     

Capillary gas chromatography/negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry for the quantification of bile acids including 1 beta-hydroxylated and unsaturated bile acids in serum and urine

12 bile acids, including 1 beta-hydroxylated and unsaturated bile acids, have been quantified by capillary gas chromatography/negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry, using the trimethylsilyl(TMS) ether derivatives of bile acid pentafluorobenzyl(PFB) esters. The analysis time is 12 min and the minimum measurable amount is 100 fg for each bile acid. Bile acids in 200 microL of serum and 50 microL of urine from healthy human adults were measured. These small sample sizes enhance the practicality of using this method as a screening test for bile acids in the serum and urine of human infants, where small sample size is a major problem.     

Analysis of bile acids in human biological samples by microcolumn separation techniques: A review

Bile acids are a group of compounds essential for lipid digestion and absorption with a steroid skeleton and a carboxylate side chain usually conjugated to glycine or taurine. Bile acids are regulatory molecules for a number of metabolic processes and can be used as biomarkers of various disorders. Since the middle of the twentieth century, the detection of bile acids has evolved from simple qualitative analysis to accurate quantification in complicated mixtures. Advanced methods are required to characterize and quantify individual bile acids in these mixtures. This article overviews the literature from the last two decades (2000–2020) and focuses on bile acid analysis in various human biological samples. The methods for sample preparation, including the sample treatment of conventional (blood plasma, blood serum, and urine) and unconventional samples (bile, saliva, duodenal/gastric juice, feces, etc.) are shortly discussed. Eventually, the focus is on novel analytical approaches and methods for each particular biological sample, providing an overview of the microcolumn separation techniques, such as high-performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, and capillary electrophoresis, used in their analysis. This is followed by a discussion on selected clinical applications.     

Glass-capillary chromatography in medical research

Summary This paper deals with our experiences with glass-capillary chromatography in medical research. We reported earlier about chromatography of fatty acid methyl esters on a 50 m glass capillary, coated with FFAP. Now we have experimented with a 50 m Silar 10 C column, which gives even better results. The analysis of bile acids on 20 m columns, coated with OV-17, SE-54 or Silar-10 C yields good chromatograms and resolves the main bile acids by base line separation. Further, we are able to report the chromatography of steroid hormones extracted from human urine on a 50 m glass capillary coated with OV-101. Preliminary assessment can be made of the chromatography of the 20 major amino acids after butylation and acetylation on a 50 m Silar-10 C column. As an example of the analysis of vitamins we have chosen the chromatography of nicotinic acid and its isomer. In summary, we are able to show the wide variety of applications of the glass capillary column in medical research.     

Gas-liquid chromatography of serum bile acids using glass capillary columns

The proposed combination of a rather simple procedure for sample preparation with capillary gas-liquid chromatography using a barium carbonate/polyethyleneglycol 20,000 column and a Grob-type on-column injector permits measurement of bile acids in serum with high separation efficiency, short analysis time and complete separation of bile acids from cholesterol. The method can be adapted to combined capillary gas-liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry.     

Rapid and sensitive on-line precolumn purification and high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for bile acids in serum

A simple and rapid technique for the simultaneous isolation and analysis of fifteen kinds of bile acid was developed using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with an automatic dual-precolumn switching system. The serum samples were directly injected onto a first precolumn (hydroxyapatite), which was flushed with 1 mM phosphate buffer. Serum proteins were strongly retained on the hydroxyapatite column, but bile acids were unretained. The bile acids were absorbed on a second precolumn (Serumout-25) and eluted onto the analytical column with solvent B (acetonitrile-methanol-30 mM ammonium acetate, 20:20:60, v/v/v). For the separation of each bile acid, the gradient elution technique was used (solvent A was acetonitrile-methanol-30 mM ammonium acetate, 30:30:40). After separation of the bile acids, NADH was produced by use of immobilized 3 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase column and then determined fluorimetrically (gamma em = 460 nm, gamma ex = 350 nm). The recoveries of bile acids in serum generally approached 100%.     

Supercritical fluid extraction of grape seed oil and subsequent separation of free fatty acids by high-speed counter-current chromatography

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of grape seed oil was performed to study the effect of various parameters such as pressure, temperature and the particle size of the sample on the yield and composition of oil using an analytical-scale SFE system. Then the extraction was scaled up by 125 times using a preparative SFE system under the optimized conditions of high pressure (30-40 MPa) and low temperature (35-40 degrees C) with medium particle size (20-40 mesh). The maximum yield of the oil can reach 6.2% with pure supercritical CO2 and 4.0% more oil can be obtained by adding 10% of ethanol as modifier. The unsaturated fatty acids (UFSs) make up about 70% in the oil on the basis of free fatty acids. The grape seed oil was then subjected to separation and purification for free fatty acids after saponification by high-speed counter-current chromatography coupled with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD). The separation of 1.0 g of oil can yield about 430 mg pure linoleic acid at 99% purity. The fatty acids were analyzed by HPLC-ELSD.     

Separation of aliphatic and aromatic acids,aromatic sulfonates,quaternary ammonium compounds,and chelating agents on a reversed-phase column without ion pairing

Cleaning products contain a wide variety of components. These include inorganic materials, weak acids, anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, amphoteric compounds, and nonionic materials. The separation of these generally requires the use of multichromatographic modes. A system is developed that would give the maximum information for a cleaning product in a single chromatographic run. With the use of a hydrophobic, high-carbon-loading, and a relatively hydrophobic surface reversed-phase packing, such compounds as aromatic sulfonates, quaternary ammonium compounds, weak acids, nitrilotriacetic acid, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, and nonionic materials may be separated in a single run. The mode of separation is considered to be a combination of reversed-phase, ion-suppression reversed-phase, and adsorption chromatography. The separation is made on a YMC-Packl ODS-AQl column (4.6 x 250 mm, 120 angstroms). The separation employs a gradient run starting with 0.01 N H2SO4 for 10 min followed by a gradient for 15 min to 100% acetonitrile and continuing for an additional 5 min with 100% acetonitrile. The flow rate is 1 mL/min, and the separation is monitored at 210 nm.     

Identification of fatty acid methyl esters as minor components of fish oil by multidimensional GC-MSD: New furan fatty acids

The separation and analysis of furan fatty acids and other minor component fatty acids present at very low concentrations in complex sample matrices, such as fish oil or lipids derived from liver and testes, require several pre-analytical separation steps if single column gas chromatography is to furnish sufficient resolution: after extraction and transesterification hydrogenation, urea complex precipitation and argentation TLC have been applied prior to GC analysis of furan fatty acids. By using multidimensional GC-MSD with cooled injection and flow-controlled column switching with intermediate cold trapping, it has been possible to identify directly the methyl esters of furan fatty acids without further pre-analytical separation. The most common of the furan fatty acids can be subdivided into two groups depending on whether they bear a propyl or pentyl side group in the 5-position of the furan ring. In addition to the eight furan fatty acids known to be present in fish oil, six new ones were identified, four with propyl substitution and two with pentyl substitution. Four have earlier been reported to be present in the hepatopancreas of crayfish and in fish tissue, whereas the propyl-substituted 16,19-epoxy-17,18-dimethyldocosa-16,18-dienoic acid and the pentyl-substituted furan fatty acid 6,9-epoxy-7-methyltetradeca-6,8-dienoic acid were hitherto unknown.     

A highly effective one-minute thin-layer chromatographic separation of unconjugated tri- and dihydroxy bile acids

A rapid, miniature thin-layer chromatographic procedure has been developed for the separation of unconjugated tri- and dihydroxy bile acids. The new solvent system consisted of isooctane:diisopropyl ether:methanol:acetic acid:formamide (2:1:0.13:0.07:0.02,$\text{v}\text{v}$). Complete separation of tri- and dihydroxy bile acid fractions was easily achieved within 1 min on ITLC type SG chromatography sheets. A sensitive fluorescent visualization technique was employed. The reflected fluorescence intensity of the bile acids fluorophore spots was measured with a Farrand Mark I spectrofluorometer equipped with a thin-layer scanning attachment. The excitation and emission wavelengths were 375 and 436 nm, respectively. The above procedure has been adapted for the separation of unconjugated bile acids from serum samples. The bile acids were adsorbed onto Amberlite XAD-2, eluted with ethanol, and concentrated. Further purification was performed by a simple 3-min thin-layer chromatographic technique. This new procedure for the separation of tri- and dihydroxy bile acids is rapid, sensitive, and less complex than conventional procedures presently employed in clinical laboratories.     

High-performance ion-pair chromatographic behaviour of conjugated bile acids with di-n-butylamine acetate

This paper dealt with a simple and efficient method for separating a mixture of different series of ionic, high polar, and hydrophilic conjugates of bile acids by high-performance ion-pair chromatography (HPIPC) with a new volatile ion-pair chromatographic reagent, di-n-butylamine acetate (DBAA), as a mobile phase additive. The substrates examined included eleven different classes of C-24 glycine- or taurine-amidated, 3-sulfated, 3-glucosylated, 3-N-acetylglucosaminidated, and 3-glucuronidated conjugates of cholic, chenodeoxycholic, urosodeoxycholic, and deoxycholic acids, as well as their double-conjugated forms. The anionic conjugated bile acids were chromatographed on a C18, reversed-phase ion-pair column, eluting with methanol-water (65:35, v/v) containing 5 mM of DBAA as a counter ion. Satisfactory chromatographic separation and column performance were attained by DBAA, compared with conventionally used non-volatile tetra-n-butylammonium phosphate. The present HPIPC method with DBAA provides an insight into the separation and structural elucidation of these biologically important bile acid conjugates and may be proved to be applied to HPLC-mass spectrometric analysis.     

Studies on steroids. CXXVIII. Separation and determination of bile acids by high-performance liquid chromatography

A method is described for the simultaneous determination of major bile acids by high-performance liquid chromatography without prior hydrolysis. A mixture of bile acids is divided into the free, glyco- and tauro-conjugate groups by thin-layer chromatography. Separation of each group into cholate, ursodeoxycholate, chenodeoxycholate, deoxycholate and lithocholate is attained in two stages on a muBondapak C18 column; first, 0.3% ammonium carbonate-acetonitrile (9:4) is used as a mobile phase for the separation of the last three compounds. Subsequently cholate and ursodeoxycholate are resolved by chromatography in 0.3% ammonium carbonate-acetonitrile (11:4).     

超高效液相色谱法测定生物柴油中的11种脂肪酸及脂肪酸甲酯

建立了采用超高效液相色谱(UPLC)-蒸发光散射检测器(ELSD)测定生物柴油中11种常见的脂肪酸及脂肪酸甲酯含量的方法。这11种常见的脂肪酸及脂肪酸甲酯为豆蔻酸、亚油酸、棕榈酸、油酸、亚麻酸甲酯、硬脂酸、亚油酸甲酯、棕榈酸甲酯、油酸甲酯、芥酸和硬脂酸甲酯。样品经提取后用甲醇溶解,采用Acquity UPLC BEH Phenyl C18柱(100 mm×2.1 mm,1.7 μm)分离,乙腈-水（体积比为3∶1)混合液为流动相进行等度洗脱,采用的ELSD条件为增益80,漂移管温度为45 ℃,载气压力为172 kPa,雾化器为冷却模式,并用外标法进行定量分析。结果表明,在一定的质量浓度范围内,峰面积的对数和质量浓度的对数线性关系良好。与其他检测生物柴油成分的方法相比,该方法简单,分离效果好,速度快,特别是此方法可以同时实现脂肪酸及脂肪酸甲酯的分离,并进行定量分析,能有效测定反应的进行程度,从而满足生物柴油工艺研究的需要。     

Characterization of lipids in complex samples using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Most lipids are a complex mixture of classes of compounds such as fatty acids, fatty alcohols, diols, sterols and hydroxy acids. In this study, the suitability of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to a time-of-light mass spectrometer is studied for lipid characterization in complex samples. With lanolin, a refined wool wax, as test sample, it is demonstrated that combined methylation plus silylation is the preferred derivatization procedure to achieve (i) high-quality GC x GC separation and (ii) easily recognizable ordered structures in lipid analysis. Optimization of the GC x GC column combination, the influence of the temperature programme on the quality of the separation, and the potential and limitations of automated TOF-MS-based identification are discussed. The combined power of a 2D separation, ordered structures and MS detection is illustrated by the identification of several minor sample constituents.     

Separation of perfluoroalkylsulfinic acids and perfluoroalkylsulfonic acids by ion-exclusion chromatography

Ion-exclusion chromatography has been successfully applied to the separation of a number of perfluoroalkylsulfinic acids and perfluoroalkylsulfonic acids. The separation of various perfluoroalkylsulfinic and perfluoroalkylsulfonic acids, with different alkyl groups, was investigated on a polymethacrylate-based, weakly acidic, cation-exchange resin (TSK gel OApak-A) in the H⁺-form and using conductimetric detection. When water was used as the eluent, these perfluoroalkylsulfinic and perfluoroalkylsulfonic acids could not be resolved. When an aqueous solution of benzoic acid and o-phthalic acid was used, the separation of each of these acids occurred. In order to improve their separation, the effect of the addition of methanol and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol, as organic modifiers, was also investigated.     

Bile acids as stationary phase in liquid chromatography

Summary Bile acids chemically bonded onto aminopropylsilica have been employed as stationary phases in liquid chromatography. Bile acid aggregates were dynamically formed around molecules chemically anchored on the supports when the eluent contained bile salts. The bile salt aggregates achieved the separation of 1,1′-binaphthyl-2,2′-diyl-hydrogenphosphate enantiomers and dansyl amino acids.     

An LC-ESI-MS method for the quantitative analysis of bile acids composition in fecal materials

In this work, a liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) method was developed and validated for quantification of bile acids in fecal materials. Co-eluting matrix impurities in fecal materials have been shown to greatly suppress the ionization of analytes in mass spectrometry, which is known as the matrix effect. To correct large quantitative errors caused by the matrix effect, we developed a scheme that combined the standard addition method with internal standard (SA-IS). The fecal sample pretreatment involved a single step of extraction with ethanol. Bile acids were separated using a Luna C(18) column (150 mm, 2 mm i.d., 5 μm) with gradient elution. The deprotonated analytes were detected in selective ion monitoring mode. Our results showed that, by using this method, the accuracy of quantification was significantly improved in comparison to the conventional internal standard method. The linearity, sensitivity, accuracy and precision of the method were within the range of 0.05-5 μmol/L. This SA-IS method was successfully applied to the analysis of bile acids in the samples collected from patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.     

A pre-column derivatization high-performance liquid chromatography method for simultaneous determination of short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids in a fecal sample

Short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids have plentiful biological functions, which play a crucial role in the diagnosis and therapy of many diseases. Herein, a new method for simultaneous quantifying 17 short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids with high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with an ultraviolet detector was developed and the pre-column derivatization by indole-3-acetic acid hydrazide was performed to improve the separation and detection. The conditions of the derivatization reaction were systematically investigated. Subsequently, the method was validated and the results showed a satisfactory linearity (linear regression coefficients > 0.9969), the limit of detection (4.0×10⁻³–1.9×10⁻² μmol/L), precision (0.9%–7.3% for intra-day and 2.0%–9.8% for inter-day), recovery (90.0%–109.1% with relative standard deviation <7.7%) and stability (0.1%–3.3% for standard solution and 0.2%–3.9% for fecal sample). Finally, the established method was successfully applied to quantify short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids in the feces of healthy control and diabetic rats. Eleven kinds of short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids were detected and six of them showed a significant difference between the control group and the model group.     

Biological fluid screening and confirmation of bile acids by use of an integrated flow-injection-LC-evaporative light-scattering system

Summary An integrated flow-injection-liquid chromatographic system is presented for the screening of biological fluids for bile acids, and for subsequent confirmation. It is based on the use of a flow-injection configuration with an evaporative light-scattering detector (ELSD), for routine screening for the total concentration of the analytes, followed by the individual determination, by liquid chromatography, of only those samples for which the total concentration is close to or above the normal level in healthy individuals. Bile acids are extracted from human serum and urine withn-hexane under acid conditions. After phase separation the organic layer is evaporated to dryness under a stream of nitrogen and redissolved in weakly alkaline solution (pH 8). The aqueous phase is then passed through a miniaturized Amberlite XAD-7 column for preconcentration and clean up, and eluted with acetonitrile-methanol, 65∶35 (v/v). The effluent is introduced directly into the ELSD for determination of the total bile-acid content of the sample. For confirmatory analysis another aliquot of the sample is processed in the screening module and the effluent from the adsorbent column is then directed to the chromatographic column to obtain the bile acid profile of the sample. Good agreement was obtained in the analysis of urine and serum samples by both procedures.