FA are a class of compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They are the main components of neutral fats, phospholipids and glycolipids. FA can be divided into saturated FA and unsaturated FA. Saturated FA, such as stearic acid and palmitic acid, do not have carbon - carbon double bonds in molecules. Unsaturated FA have one or more carbon - carbon double bonds in their molecules, and oleic acid is the most common substance. FAME is produced by methylation of FA, which is the main component of biodiesel.
FA and FAME are widely used in food, cosmetics, industrial products and other fields and accurate measurement of FA and FAME is helpful to ensure product quality. In addition, the content and type of FA and FAME are closely related to the life activities of the organisms, and the detection of them is helpful to understand the physiological situation of the organisms. FA/FAME CRM is a branch of certified reference materials, which has high purity and are often used to calibrate instruments, evaluate detection methods, realize qualitative or quantitative tests and others. Commonly used FA/FAME CRMs include stearic acid, palmitic acid, potassium sorbate, palmitic acid, methyl octanoate and others.
Application fields
Analysis of FA/FAME in the food: FA/FAME are an important food additive and an indispensable raw material in the modern food industry. However, the abuse of FA/FAME will cause problems in food safety. Based on FA/FAME CRMs, the chromatographic method can be used to efficiently detect FA/FAME in food. For example, potassium sorbate CRMs can be used to prepare a standard solution, and the potassium sorbate preservative in cakes can be detected by high performance liquid chromatography.
Analysis of FA/FAME in the biodiesel: Biodiesel is obtained by transesterification of animal or plant oils and methanol, which contains many kinds of FA and FAME. Therefore, the content of FA and FAME in biodiesel can directly reflect its quality. FA/FAME in biodiesel can be determined qualitatively and quantitatively by chromatography. In the detection process, the FA/FAME CRMs are used to make the standard curves, which is the basis of the subsequent detection. For example, using mixed FA/FAME CRMs, methyl laurate, methyl stearate, methyl oleate and others in biodiesel can be detected by gas chromatographic method.
Others: In addition to the fields mentioned above, FA/FAME CRMs can also be used to analyze FA/FAME in cosmetics, identify bacterial species and others. Most of the methods used are high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, or a combination of chromatography and mass spectrometry.
Why choose Alfa Chemistry?
Alfa Chemistry is one of the largest providers of FA/FAME - CRMs for chromatography in the world and the quality assurance is of prime importance to Alfa Chemistry. The solvent from Alfa Chemistry in the world is synonymous with reliability and excellent quality. Because of the exacting nature of our business and the regulatory demands placed upon our industry, Alfa Chemistry continues to be at the forefront in terms of compliance, accreditations and certifications.