Fatty acid methyl esters ( FAMEs ) are fatty acid esters obtained by the transesterification of fats with methanol alcohol. FAMEs are the main component of biodiesel , which is usually obtained from vegetable oils by transesterification . In addition, they are used for the production of detergents [1] . Fatty acid methyl esters are usually obtained in the reaction between fats and methanol under conditions of acid or alkaline catalysis; usually the reaction is carried out in the presence of bases such as sodium hydroxide or sodium methoxide [2] .
Usage
Since each microorganism has its own specific set of fatty acids, the FAME method can be used to identify the microorganism, because the lipid composition of the outer and cytoplasmic membranes is an important phenotypic trait.
Clinical analysis can be used to determine the length, presence of double bonds, rings and branches of fatty acid methyl esters. For analysis, the lipid fraction is extracted from the bacterial culture, and then the transesterification reaction is carried out to obtain FAME. Then, the volatile compounds obtained are subjected to gas chromatography , and the taxonomic affiliation of the organism is judged by the shape and number of peaks obtained. This method is widely used to characterize new types of bacteria, as well as to identify pathogenic strains.
See also
- Biodiesel
Notes
- ↑ Anneken, David J. Fatty Acids // Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry / David J. Anneken, Sabine Both, Ralf Christoph ... [and others. ] . - Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, 2006. - DOI : 10.1002 / 14356007.a10_245.pub2 .
- ↑ Vyas, Amish P .; Verma, Jaswant L .; Subrahmanyam, N. “A review on FAME production processes” Fuel (2009), Volume Date2010, 89 (1), 1-9. DOI : 10.1016 / j.fuel.2009.08.08.014