Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026

Fatty Acid 13C Isotopologue Profiling Provides Insight into Trophic Carbon Transfer and Lipid Metabolism of Invertebrate Consumers
Published on: April 17, 2018
Determination of fatty acid methyl esters by GC-triple quadrupole MS using electron and chemical ionization
Yong-Jiang Xu1, Jianbing Zhang
1Key Laboratory of Insect Development & Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology & Ecology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, PR China. yjxutju@gmail.com
Background:
The main objective of this study was to explore the potential use of electron ionization (EI) and chemical ionization (CI) techniques in fatty acid measurement. MS/MS, together with main fragment ions in EI and positive CI of 37 fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), were investigated using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer.
Results:
Our results demonstrated that several diagnostic ions of FAMEs could be confirmed using EI. On the other hand, the characteristic fragmentation patterns and probable pathway of FAMEs could be deduced from the collision-induced dissociation mass spectra when using positive CI. Owing to its capability in using the specific ions of fatty acids for selected ion monitoring and SRM, CI is considered to be more suitable for fatty acid quantitative analysis. Based on these features, a systematic strategy was then developed to integrate these fragments for GC-MS/MS for the determination of fatty acids.
Conclusion:
This approach offers a rapid and accurate method for measuring a wide spectrum of fatty acids.
Related Concept Videos
Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS)
A gas chromatograph consists of a long, narrow capillary column with a polysiloxane coating on the inner wall. The coating...
Mass Spectrometry: Complex Analysis
GC–MS is a powerful hyphenated method commonly used in forensics and environmental...
Chemical Ionization (CI) Mass Spectrometry
Mass Spectrometry: Carboxylic Acid, Ester, and Amide Fragmentation
For example, the fragmentation of...
Electrospray Ionization (ESI) Mass Spectrometry
ESI utilizes electrical energy to transfer ions from the liquid phase of the sample into the...
Peptide Identification Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry
This technique helps gather information regarding the protein from which the peptide was obtained and to study the peptides’ amino acid sequence. Identifying peptides from a complex mixture is an important component of the growing field of...

