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Updated: Jan 11, 2026

Quantitative Determination of De Novo Fatty Acid Synthesis in Brown Adipose Tissue Using Deuterium Oxide
Published on: May 12, 2023
Chemoenzymatic synthesis and identification of medium- and long-chain triacylglycerol congeners
Jaehyeon Park1, Juno Lee2, Jihoon Kim1
1Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826 Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Medium- and long-chain triacylglycerols (MLCTs) offer rapid energy release and essential nutritional benefits, making them valuable in functional foods. In this study, MLCTs containing caprylic acid (C8:0; C) and linoleic acid (C18:2; L) were synthesized via a chemoenzymatic strategy combining lipase-catalyzed reactions and Steglich esterification. Four distinct MLCT congeners-CCL, CLC, LLC, and LCL-were obtained with yields of 52-67% (asymmetrical) and 71-84% (symmetrical), and purified using preparative HPLC (> 98%). The resulting compounds were structurally characterized by HPLC-ESI-MS and 13C NMR spectroscopy. HPLC-ESI-MS confirmed the expected mass-to-charge values for the [M + NH₄]⁺ adducts: 624.6 for CCL/CLC and 760.6 for LLC/LCL. 13C NMR analysis verified molecular symmetry; asymmetric TAGs showed three carbonyl signals (e.g., 173.30, 173.26, 172.88 ppm for CCL), while symmetric forms showed two signals. These results confirm the successful synthesis and structural integrity of MLCTs with defined fatty acid positioning for functional lipid applications.
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