Development of a gas chromatographic method for profiling neutral lipids in marine samples

Yang, Zheng (1995) Development of a gas chromatographic method for profiling neutral lipids in marine samples. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (11MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

Profiling neutral lipids is one of more difficult applications of gas chromatography (GC), but it can contribute important information on unrevealed neutral lipid suites in their entirety from marine environments. Thin layer chromatography with flame ionization detection (TLC-FID) is extensively used today but has many inherent limitations. In this study, a high temperature GC lipid profiling method was optimized for use with neutral lipids in highly unsaturated samples from a subpolar marine environment. Chemometrics was employed to optimize autoinjection procedures and column temperature programs. Other components in the GC, including the selection of carrier gas types, injection techniques, length of the column, septum types and retention gap, were investigated. A hydrogenation step was required to avoid discrimination of the FID responses in highly unsaturated samples. Analyses of fatty acids, moieties of the neutral lipids, supported the neutral lipid profile data. The identification of major sterols was confirmed by GC coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Summed molecular species from each neutral lipid class determined gas chromatographically were linearly correlated with neutral lipid subclasses determined by Chromarod TLC-FID. The developed method was applied to a range of marine samples, including algae, bivalves, polychaetes, fish eggs and fish larvae, revealing for the first time, neutral lipid carbon number distributions in marine species from cold oceans.

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