One-step methodology for the synthesis of FA picolinyl esters from intact lipids

Picolinyl derivatives are used for structural determination of FA by GC-MS. Although they provide reliable diagnostic fragments, the usual multistep methodologies applied for their preparation require TAG hydrolysis or acid chloride formation prior to picolinyl synthesis. These reaction conditions may result in the presence of artifact molecules in the samples and thus compromise analytical quality and accuracy. To address these problems, a rapid, simple and quantitative methodology for the synthesis of FA picolinyl esters from intact lipids was developed. It involves their transesterification under basecatalyzed conditions using 3-potassiooxamethylpyridine in methylene chloride. The catalyst was prepared by proton exchange between potassium tert-butoxide and anhydrous 3-hydroxymethylpyridine. Mild reaction conditions allowed complete derivatization of TAG and phospholipids in 2 min at room temperature, and of FAME in 15 min at 45°C. The proposed procedure, which can be used on a routine basis, was applied to Ipomoae imperialis seed lipids and used to confirm occurrence of γ-linoleic acid at a level of 0.9%.