Development  of next-generation biofuels from microalgae necessitates finding  strains which produce large quantities of biomass , have high lipid  productivity, and are robust. Studies utilizing variable culture conditions and synthetic  biology greatly benefit from a comprehensive lipid analysis.   Glycolipids, betaine lipids, and phospholipids represent the three major  subgroups of polar lipids, while di- and tri-acylglycerides, free fatty acids, and sterols constitute a large part of the neutral  lipids pool. Our workflow comprises various scales of lipid extractions  from selected microalgae cultures, fractionation by silica SPE, followed  by FAME analysis via GC/FID/MS, and a comprehensive lipidomics analysis via accurate mass Q-TOF LC/MS/MS. An in-house lipid  database is developed for qualitative analysis, and class-specific  internal standards are used for semi-quantification by LC/MS. As a  result, highly distinguishable fatty acid and intact lipid fingerprints, and polar-to-neutral lipid ratios are detected for  various microalgae under various nutrient culturing conditions.

Workflow for the extraction, fractionation, and Q-TOF LC/MS/MS analysis of lipid classes in various algae strains

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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