From lipid analysis towards lipidomics, a new challenge for the analytical chemistry of the 21st century. Part I: Modern lipid analysis

Although lipids are not the easiest substances to analyze as they can vary markedly in polarity and they lack chromophores that might facilitate spectrophotometric detection, there has clearly been progress in lipid analysis. This first part of a two-part review is an overview of the latest developments in the rapidly changing world of lipid analysis. We review both the most commonly used systems for extracting lipids from different samples, and the analytical techniques used for separation, identification and quantification of lipids. We describe traditional thin-layer chromatographic, gas chromatographic, liquid chromatographic and electrophoretic methods, and discuss the most recent applications of mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance and vibrational spectroscopy.