Automatic potentiometric titration and gas-liquid chromatography of underivatised free fatty acids

A rapid and precise method is described for the determination of total free fatty acids (FFA) in the serum followed by the separation of individual FFA by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). After the extraction the FFA are directly injected into the gas-liquid chromatograph without esterification. DEGS-PS serves as stationary phase. The esterified fatty acids such as cholesterol esters, phospholipids or triglycerides do not interfere with the FFA determined by the GLC method. This method is compared to other commonly used titrimetric and gas-chromatographic procedures. The changes of the composition of individual FFA during and after ergometer work is reported.