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Updated: Aug 4, 2026

Analysis of Fatty Acid Content and Composition in Microalgae
Published on: October 1, 2013
Alternative NMR method for quantitative determination of acyl positional distribution in triacylglycerols and related
S Simova1, G Ivanova, S L Spassov
1Institute of Organic Chemistry with Center of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria. sds@orgchm.bas.bg
Abstract:
High-resolution 13C NMR spectroscopy has been used to analyze the positional distribution of fatty acids in model triacylglycerols. A novel method for quantitative determination of the positional distribution of unsaturated chains in triacylglycerols simultaneously with the ratio of saturated/unsaturated acyl chains has been proposed, utilizing the chemical shift differences of the aliphatic atoms C4, C5, and C6. The use of HSQC-TOCSY spectra allows unequivocal proof of the position of the unsaturated chain as well as complete assignment of the 13C NMR signals in tripalmitin.
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