Determination of furan fatty acids in extra virgin olive oil.
The presence of 4 different furan fatty acids (F-acids) was detected in 18 samples of transmethylated monovarietal extra virgin olive oil: methyl 10,13-epoxy-11,12-dimethyloctadeca-10,12-dienoate [diMeF(9,5)], methyl 12,15-epoxy-13,14-dimethyleicosa-12,14-dienoate [diMeF(11,5)] and both olefinic derivatives of diMeF(11,5) with one unsaturation on the side chains conjugated with the furan ring. Transmethylated oils were analyzed by normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled on-line with capillary gas chromatography. After the gas chromatographic separation step, a more selective detection of F-acids was achieved by using a photoionization detector mounted in series with a flame ionization detector. The concentration of F-acids ranged between 50 ppb (detection limit of the method) and 2.1 ppm in the oil. The olefinic derivatives of diMeF(11,5) acids detected were not artifacts created during the sample preparation or during the chromatographic analysis.
Identification of fatty acid methyl esters as minor components of fish oil by multidimensional GC-MSD: New furan fatty acids
The separation and analysis of furan fatty acids and other minor component fatty acids present at very low concentrations in complex sample matrices, such as fish oil or lipids derived from liver and testes, require several pre-analytical separation steps if single column gas chromatography is to furnish sufficient resolution: after extraction and transesterification hydrogenation, urea complex precipitation and argentation TLC have been applied prior to GC analysis of furan fatty acids. 
 
 
 
By using multidimensional GC-MSD with cooled injection and flow-controlled column switching with intermediate cold trapping, it has been possible to identify directly the methyl esters of furan fatty acids without further pre-analytical separation. 
 
 
 
The most common of the furan fatty acids can be subdivided into two groups depending on whether they bear a propyl or pentyl side group in the 5-position of the furan ring. In addition to the eight furan fatty acids known to be present in fish oil, six new ones were identified, four with propyl substitution and two with pentyl substitution. Four have earlier been reported to be present in the hepatopancreas of crayfish and in fish tissue, whereas the propyl-substituted 16,19-epoxy-17,18-dimethyldocosa-16,18-dienoic acid and the pentyl-substituted furan fatty acid 6,9-epoxy-7-methyltetradeca-6,8-dienoic acid were hitherto unknown.
Identification of Dihydroxy Aromatic Compounds in a Low-Temperature Pyrolysis Coal Tar by Gas Chromatography−Mass Spectrometry (GC−MS) and Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FT-ICR MS)
Dihydroxy aromatics in coal tar undergo rapid coupling reactions with each other and with some coal-derived species during coal pyrolysis and liquefaction. However, only limited information on the structure of dihydroxy aromatics is known. In this study, Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) and gas chromatography−mass spectrometry (GC−MS) were used to characterize the dihydroxy aromatics in a low-temperature pyrolyzed coal tar and its distillate and residue fractions. Negative-ion electrospray ionization (ESI) FT-ICR MS spectra of coal-tar-derived samples had low molecular masses and narrow mass ranges. Negative-ion ESI is extremely selective for the dihydroxy aromatics present in coal tar. The O2 class species had the highest ion intensity among the species in the negative-ion FT-ICR mass spectrum for each sample. Dihydroxy compounds with an aromatic core structure of benzene, indan, biphenyl (and/or acenaphthene), and naphthalene were identified in the distillate fract...