Methylation of fatty acids

Methylation of fatty acids Glycerophospholipids can be transesterified directly by basic and acidic procedures without need for saponification of fatty acids. 

Methylation of fatty acids is a well-known technique. A wide range of methylation and transesterification procedures are available in the literature. Defined lUPAC methods for the preparation and GC analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (EAMEs) have been published. The methylation with diazomethane, as modified by Schlenk and Gelleman is in common use. Under the proper conditions, methylation with diazomethane gives good results. 

Anhydrous MeOH in the presence of an electrophilic catalyst, such as HCl, concentrated sulfuric acid, dichloroacetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, benzene sulfonic acid, polyphosphoric acid, p-toluene sulfonic acid, thionyl chloride, and perchloric acid is often used for the methylation of fatty acids. 

In using adsorption chromatography to determine the purity of lipids, one should always be aware of the fact that chemical alteration can occur during actual chromatography. Activated silicic acid, and especially alumina, can cause significant catalytic changes to occur, such as deacylation, decarboxylation, acyl migration, and methylation of fatty acids. 

C,oHi4F3NO M 221.222 Reagent for methylation of fatty acids for glc anal. Iodide [27389-57-7]. 

Methyl group (Section 2 7) The group —CH3 Mevalonic acid (Section 26 10) An intermediate in the biosyn thesis of steroids from acetyl coenzyme A Micelle (Section 19 5) A sphencal aggregate of species such as carboxylate salts of fatty acids that contain a lipophilic end and a hydrophilic end Micelles containing 50-100 car boxylate salts of fatty acids are soaps Michael addition (Sections 18 13 and 21 9) The conjugate ad dition of a carbanion (usually an enolate) to an a 3 unsatu rated carbonyl compound... 

Secondary alcohols (C q—for surfactant iatermediates are produced by hydrolysis of secondary alkyl borate or boroxiae esters formed when paraffin hydrocarbons are air-oxidized ia the presence of boric acid [10043-35-3] (19,20). Union Carbide Corporation operated a plant ia the United States from 1964 until 1977. A plant built by Nippon Shokubai (Japan Catalytic Chemical) ia 1972 ia Kawasaki, Japan was expanded to 30,000 t/yr capacity ia 1980 (20). The process has been operated iadustriaHy ia the USSR siace 1959 (21). Also, predominantiy primary alcohols are produced ia large volumes ia the USSR by reduction of fatty acids, or their methyl esters, from permanganate-catalyzed air oxidation of paraffin hydrocarbons (22). The paraffin oxidation is carried out ia the temperature range 150—180°C at a paraffin conversion generally below 20% to a mixture of trialkyl borate, (RO)2B, and trialkyl boroxiae, (ROBO). Unconverted paraffin is separated from the product mixture by flash distillation. After hydrolysis of residual borate esters, the boric acid is recovered for recycle and the alcohols are purified by washing and distillation (19,20). 

Filtration through an acidic filter aid or siUca removes the last traces of soap from the oil. The finished oil is heated under vacuum to remove small amounts of fatty acid methyl esters. 

Fats, Oils, or Fatty Acids. The primary products produced direcdy from fats, oils, or fatty acids without a nitrile iatermediate are the quatemized amidoamines, imidazolines, and ethoxylated derivatives (Fig. 3). Reaction of fatty acids or tallow with various polyamines produces the iatermediate dialkylarnidoarnine. By controlling reaction conditions, dehydration can be continued until the imidazoline is produced. Quaternaries are produced from both amidoamines and imidazolines by reaction with methyl chloride or dimethyl sulfate. The amidoamines can also react with ethylene oxide (qv) to produce ethoxylated amidoamines which are then quaternized. 

Olestra is prepared by a solvenfless transesterification process in which sucrose is treated with methyl ester of fatty acids in the presence of sodium methoxide between 100—180°C for 14 hours (68). The manufacturing process involves removal of the unreacted fatty acid esters by enzymic hydrolysis... 

The higher fatty acids undergo decarboxylation and other undesirable reactions when heated at their boiling points at atmospheric pressure. Hence they are distilled at reduced pressure (15,16). Methyl esters boil at lower temperatures than acids at the same pressure as the result of the absence of hydrogen bonding (17). A procedure for calculation of the vapor pressures of fatty acids at various temperatures has been described (18). 

Esterification is one of the most important reactions of fatty acids (25). Several types of esters are produced including those resulting from reaction with monohydric alcohols, polyhydric alcohols, ethylene or propylene oxide, and acetjiene or vinyl acetate. The principal monohydric alcohols used are methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, butyl, and isobutyl alcohols (26) (see Esterification Esters, organic). 

Sorbitol is the most important higher polyol used in direct esterification of fatty acids. Esters of sorbitans and sorbitans modified with ethylene oxide are extensively used as surface-active agents. Interesteritication of fatty acid methyl esters with sucrose yields biodegradable detergents, and with starch yields thermoplastic polymers (36). 

Transesterification has a number of important commercial uses. Methyl esters of fatty acids are produced from fats and oils. Transesterification is also the basis of recycling technology to break up poly(ethylene terephthalate) [25038-59-9] to monomer for reuse (29) (see Recycling, plastics). Because vinyl alcohol does not exist, poly(vinyl alcohol) [9002-89-5] is produced commercially by base-cataly2ed alcoholysis of poly(vinyl acetate) [9003-20-7] (see Vinyl polymers). An industrial example of acidolysis is the reaction of poly(vinyl acetate) with butyric acid to form poly(vinyl butyrate) [24991-31-9]. 

Rhodamine 6G long-chain hydrocarbons [169] squalene, a-amyrin [170] methyl esters of fatty acids [171] glycerides [91] sterols [172, 173] isoprenoids, quinones [HI] lipoproteins [174] glycosphingolipids [175] phenolic lipids [176] phosphonolipids [177] increasing the sensitivity after exposure to iodine vapor [178,179]... 

The chromatograms are freed from mobile phase (5 min in a stream of warm air), immersed in the dipping solution for 4 s or sprayed evenly with it and then heated to 110 C for 20 min (the methyl esters of fatty acids are heated to 140°C for 10 min [6]). 

The earliest clue to the secret of fatty acid oxidation and breakdown came in the early 1900s, when Franz Knoop carried out experiments in which he fed dogs fatty acids in which the terminal methyl group had been replaced with a... 

FIGURE 24.27 Dicarboxylic acids can be formed by oxidation of the methyl group of fatty acids in a cytochrome P-450-dependent reaction. 

Electrolysis of salts of fatty acids gives free radicals which are capable of reacting with added substrates. For instance, when water-free potassium acetate is electrolyzed in the presence of polymerizing substances (e.g., styrene) methyl groups are incorporated as end groups into the polymer. Goldschmidt et ai. analyzed the products formed in the electrolysis of potassium propionate in propionic acid and showed that they could be accounted for by the following reaction sequence ... 

Scheme 5.1-70 Cracking and isomerization of fatty acids and fatty acid methyl esters in...

Higher molecular primary unbranched or low-branched alcohols are used not only for the synthesis of nonionic but also of anionic surfactants, like fatty alcohol sulfates or ether sulfates. These alcohols are produced by catalytic high-pressure hydrogenation of the methyl esters of fatty acids, obtained by a transesterification reaction of fats or fatty oils with methanol or by different procedures, like hydroformylation or the Alfol process, starting from petroleum chemical raw materials. 

Hydrogenation of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters The hydrogenolysis of fatty acid methyl esters into the corresponding fatty alcohols and methanol is performed at 200-300°C and a H2 pressure of 200-300 bar with the aid of copper oxide/chromium oxide catalysts (Adkins catalysts). Three different procedures are applied [39 a-c] ... 

The transesterification of fats and fatty oils by methanol into fatty acid methyl esters proceeds at 50-70°C without pressure. The deacidified fat is stirred for a short period with an excess of methanol and 0.1-0.5% caustic alkali as catalyst. On standing the reaction mixture separates forming a bottom layer of glycerin and a top layer of fatty acid esters. 

Schmid et al. studied in detail the sulfonation reaction of fatty acid methyl esters with sulfur trioxide [37]. They measured the time dependency of the products formed during ester sulfonation. These measurements together with a mass balance confirmed the existence of an intermediate with two S03 groups in the molecule. To decide the way in which the intermediate is formed the measured time dependency of the products was compared with the complex kinetics of different mechanisms. Only the following two-step mechanism allowed a calculation of the measured data with a variation of the velocity constants in the kinetic differential equations. 

The chemistry of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) sulfonation is complicated and not yet fully elucidated, but it may be summarized as depicted in the following reaction scheme. The initial reaction between FAME and S03, although fast, is far from instantaneous. Two intermediate products are formed ... 

Transesterification of fat triglycerides is the predominant method for manufacture of mixed fatty acid methyl esters, and direct esterification of fatty acids (FA) is practiced if very selective cuts of product, in general as an intermediate detergent range alcohol, are desired. Methyl cocoate is a mobile, oily liquid above 25 °C with a yellow tint and a characteristic fatty pungent odor. FAME sulfonation to FAMES is technically possible but been rarely applied up to now (1990) (Table 13). 

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