title: Gas chromatography-vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy for analysis of fatty acid methyl esters.
abstract: A new vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) detector for gas chromatography was recently developed and applied to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis. VUV detection features full spectral acquisition in a wavelength range of 115-240nm, where virtually all chemical species absorb. VUV absorption spectra of 37 FAMEs, including saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated types were recorded. Unsaturated FAMEs show significantly different gas phase absorption profiles than saturated ones, and these classes can be easily distinguished with the VUV detector. Another advantage includes differentiating cis/trans-isomeric FAMEs (e.g. oleic acid methyl ester and linoleic acid methyl ester isomers) and the ability to use VUV data analysis software for deconvolution of co-eluting signals. As a universal detector, VUV also provides high specificity, sensitivity, and a fast data acquisition rate, making it a powerful tool for fatty acid screening when combined with gas chromatography. The fatty acid profile of several food oil samples (olive, canola, vegetable, corn, sunflower and peanut oils) were analyzed in this study to demonstrate applicability to real world samples.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: VUV Analytics, Inc., Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Smuts
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: VUV Analytics, Inc., Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Phillip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA. Electronic address: kschug@uta.edu.
authors.forename: Kevin A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Schug
mesh_terms: D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D007536:Isomerism; D008041:Linoleic Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D009829:Oleic Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry*; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D014618:Vacuum
chemical_list: D008041:Linoleic Acids; D009829:Oleic Acids; D010938:Plant Oils; C005575:methyl linoleate; C005576:methyl oleate
keywords: Deconvolution; Gas absorption spectroscopy; Linoleic acid; Oleic acid; Olive oil; Omega fatty acids; Vegetable oil; cis/trans isomers