Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) Derivatization-Based Methods for the Determination of Fatty Acids in Biological Samples

Abstract

Fatty acids (FAs) play pleiotropic roles in living organisms, acting as signaling molecules and gene regulators. They are present in plants and foods and may affect human health by food ingestion. As a consequence, analytical methods for their determination in biological fluids, plants and foods have attracted high interest. Undoubtedly, mass spectrometry (MS) has become an indispensable technique for the analysis of FAs. Due to the inherent poor ionization efficiency of FAs, their chemical derivatization prior to analysis is often employed. Usually, the derivatization of the FA carboxyl group aims to charge reversal, allowing detection and quantification in positive ion mode, thus, resulting in an increase in sensitivity in determination. Another approach is the derivatization of the double bond of unsaturated FAs, which aims to identify the double bond location. The present review summarizes the various classes of reagents developed for FA derivatization and discusses their applications in the liquid chromatography-MS (LC-MS) analysis of FAs in various matrices, including plasma and feces. In addition, applications for the determination of eicosanoids and fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAHFAs) are discussed.

The Development of an Extraction Method for Simultaneously Analyzing Fatty Acids in Macroalgae Using SPE with Derivatization for LC–MS/MS

“…According to previous reports, fatty acids usually exhibit insufficient sensitivity in LC–MS/MS because of their low ionization efficiency [ 27 , 28 ]. Therefore, a derivatization reaction was introduced to overcome such problems in this study.…”

“…Fatty acids usually exhibit insufficient sensitivity because of their low ionization efficiency [ 27 ]. Therefore, a derivatization step should be applied to overcome such problems [ 28 ]. The existing algae extraction method is complex, requires multiple steps, and has problems with poor extraction reproducibility.…”

Bioactive fatty acids from non‐conventional lipid sources and their potential application in functional food development

“…The identification and characterization of BFAs and related lipid components, such as eicosanoids in different matrices are of great interest in product development (Mantzourani & Kokotou, 2022).…”

“…vatization have been developed to quantify FAs(Mantzourani & Kokotou, 2022) Aveiro et al (2020). characterized the polar lipidome of farmed Emiliania huxleyi RCC1250 (strain AC453) using hydrophobic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)-MS, MS/ MS, and FA analysis by GC-MS, to scale up its cultivation (photobioreactors) to industrial levels and reported the occurrence of DHA (17.2%) and SDA (11.0%), in E. huxleyi's lipidome.…”

Novel Isotope-Labeled Derivatization Strategy for the Simultaneous Analysis of Fatty Acids and Fatty Alcohols and Its Application in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies and Pancreatic Cancer

“…FAs and FOHs are a group of lipid metabolites that are challenging to analyze and ionize. FAs, which are prevalent in biological fluids and tissues and function as signaling molecules and gene regulators, have been connected to illnesses like cancer, obesity, diabetes, and inflammatory diseases. , Only about 0.01% of the total lipids in mammalian tissues are free fatty alcohols, yet they are linked to a number of devastating hereditary diseases, such as Sjögren–Larsson syndrome, Zellweger syndrome, and infant Refsum disease . Hence, the study of endogenous FAs and FOHs could contribute to our understanding of the physiological functions of these molecules in disease progression.…”