Separation of regioisomers and enantiomers of underivatized saturated and unsaturated fatty acid monoacylglycerols using enantioselective HPLC.

The challenging separation of regioisomers and enantiomers of monoacylglycerols (MAGs) of fatty acids has been achieved using a single chiral HPLC column (Chiralpak® IC or Chiralpak® IA) and hexane/2-propanol eluent mixtures, without previous derivatization of the samples. The efficacy of the method is independent of the chain length and the degree of unsaturation of the fatty acids of the MAG. In addition, the separation method allows monitoring the time course for the loss of enantiomeric purity of the fatty acid-derived MAGs in polar hydroxylic solvents.