Chromatographic characterization of internal polar lipids from wool

Wool internal polar lipids were isolated and separated into different fractions based on polarity. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the different fractions were performed by thin-layer chromatography and thin-layer chromatography coupled to flame-ionization detection, respectively. Cholesterol esters, free fatty acids, sterols, ceramides, glycosylceramides, and cholesterol sulfate were the main components, with ceramides being in the highest proportion. The fatty acid composition of ceramides and glycosylceramides was determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. As for other keratinized tissues, long-chain fatty acids predominated in comparison to either free fatty acids or phospholipid-linked fatty acids; in both cases, stearic and lignoceric acids were the most abundant fatty acids, and a low amount of 18-methyleicosanoic acid was found. This work opens new avenues in the study of lipid rearrangement in more complex and realistic vesicle structures than conventional liposomes.