Identification and gas-liquid chromatographic behavior of plasmalogen aldehydes and their acetal, alcohol, and acetylated alcohol derivatives

The aldehydogenic chains of human erythrocyte plasmalogens were isolated as a group and converted to their aldehyde, alcohol, acetylated alcohol, fatty acid methyl ester, and dimethylacetal derivatives; similar derivatives were prepared from reference fatty acids. Gas-liquid chromatographic (GLC) constants of these reference and unknown compounds were determined under a variety of chromatographic conditions. These data permit the identification of 19 aldehydogenic compounds in erythrocyte plasmalogens, ranging in chain length from 14 to 19 carbons and in unsaturation from 0 to 2 double bonds. With this information, aldehydogenic chains as dimethylacetals now can be identified even when present with methyl esters of fatty acids. For purposes of studying selectivity of the GLC solvents for the various substituents listed above, it was profitable to relate the chromatographic constants of the various derivatives to those of a series of n-alkanes. In studying the relative volatility per unit mass of the various derivatives, it was shown that the order of polarity is alkane < aretal < acetate < methyl ester < aldehyde.