Picolinyl esters as derivatives for the structural determination of long chain branched and unsaturated fatty acids

Abstract

3-Picolinyl esters were prepared from n-, iso-, anteiso- and unsaturated long chain fatty acids and were examined by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The spectra contained ions which were diagnostic of the position of both the methyl branching and the double bond, and could be rationalized by assuming hydrogen abstraction from the chain by the nitrogen of the pyridine ring and cleavage at the resulting radical site. The derivatives were easy to prepare and gave more informative spectra than the previously used pyrrolidides.