Summary – “Determination of Total Long-Chain Fatty Acids in Human Plasma and Lipoproteins, before and during Copper-Stimulated Oxidation, by High-Perf

The basis of the article by Angela Bailey and Susan Southon was to utilize an improved method for the identification of total long-chain fatty acids in human plasma and lipoproteins utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The article claims previous analysis employed Gas Chromatography (GC) of fatty acid methyl esters. The chromatographic separation via GC methyl esters is established entirely by the lengths of the fatty acid chains. As such, increasing chain length prolongs retention time. However, this technique may not provide enough separation to accurately distinguish between the peaks of distinct fatty acids of the same length. HPLC is a technique in which the retention time is based not only on chain length, but also on the degree of unsaturation and positions of terminal bonds which characterize the fatty acid. Bailey and Southon emphasize that the latter stated factors play major roles in the retention time of the fatty acids and thus, are able to provide the quantification of particular fatty acids which GC was previously unable to resolve.

The HPLC technique modified by Bailey and Southon proved to be efficient in determining peaks that could not be resolved with earlier versions of chromatographic analysis. The procedure was able to identify odd-chain length fatty acids, which gas chromatography could not resolve completely. Also longer fatty chain acids were identified that could not be identified before. Furthermore, the HPLC technique provided by the researchers showed low coefficients of variation for the long chain fatty acids that could be identified by GC.

Bailey and Southon’s HPLC technique can result in valuable health and medical implications, as fatty acid concentrations in human blood plasma can be competently identified. That is, since HPLC allows for the distinction between unsaturated and saturated fatty acids, a feature not easily exposed through GC analysis, concentrations of saturated fatty acids in blood plasma can be conveniently discerned and monitored, facilitating research and diagnoses of atherosclerotic-related problems.