Fats play an important part in the food nutrition and food chemistry areas of study. The compound classes, sample types, and analytical techniques of interest include:
Short chain, volatile fatty acids, typically analyzed in their free acid form using GC
Larger (C8-C24+) fatty acids (such as omega fats and trans fats), typically converted to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) prior to GC analysis
Mono-, di-, and triglycerides, analyzed by GC or HPLC
