One-Step Labeling and Purification: Accelerating FAHFA Detection in Vegetable Oils via Chemoselective Probe-Assisted...

Area of Science:

• Lipidomics
• Analytical Chemistry
• Food Science

Background:

• Fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAHFAs) are bioactive lipids found in edible oils.
• Their low abundance and complex matrices make accurate analysis challenging.
• Efficient methods are needed for FAHFA quantification and quality assessment of oils.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel chemoselective probe for the specific capture and analysis of FAHFAs.
• To establish a rapid and sensitive method for FAHFA profiling in vegetable oils.
• To enhance the assessment of vegetable oil quality through functional lipid analysis.

Main Methods:

• Design and synthesis of a piperazine-modified silica (SiO2-PP) probe.
• One-step sample pretreatment integrating capture, purification, and signal amplification (30 min).
• Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) for sensitive quantification of FAHFA isomers.

Main Results:

• The SiO2-PP probe selectively captured FAHFAs, removing triglycerides effectively.
• Achieved high sensitivity with limits of detection (LOD) from 0.0039-0.033 ng/mL.
• Quantified 47 FAHFA isomers in 47 vegetable oil samples, identifying five dominant isomers like 10-OAHSA.
• Olive and peanut oils showed the highest FAHFA concentrations.

Conclusions:

• The developed probe and method offer a promising platform for high-throughput functional lipid profiling.
• This approach overcomes traditional method inefficiencies for FAHFA analysis.
• Significantly enhances the capability to assess vegetable oil quality and composition.