Right now according to different literature mostly gaseous nitrogen used for drying extract and some of them they were using the hot air oven (50 degree centigrade) for drying lipid extract therefore I need an expert option from all scientist community. Does temperature affect lipid composition and what temp will be advisable for total lipid content during the gravimetric analysis?
Hello Kiran,
I think the best method to dry a lipid extraction mixture is under gaseous nitrogen (without any content of oxygen) at a relatively low temperature (37ºC or below) in order to maintain lipid characteristics, because lipid oxidation. Temperature, light, oxygen availability and time used for drying the samples might affect lipid composition. Depending on your subsequent analysis, you could be more or less aggressive.
Hi Sandra,
Thank you so much for your kind response, but drying a large volume its bit difficult, expensive as well as time consuming at same time I like to mention that methanol drying using time consuming. I like know your opinion on the "wht best temp above OºC"? and I didn't find any literature on temp. below 60ºC affect lipid composition.
Hi Kiran,
I agree, if you have large volumes, dry them using nitrogen could be expensive. You could try the sample evaporation using a rotary evaporator (using temperature around 50ºC (depending on your solvent) and reduced pressure), it is appropiate when a large amount of solvent must be evaporated.
Regarding temperature, there is bibliography that shows that temperatures above 40ºC could affect lipid oxidation rate in food and similar samples depending on time “storage” (days, weeks, etc). But when you are drying a lipid extract you usually do not need more than few hours, so affectation is low… less time you need, less effect of temperature, so you could use higher temperatures.
Sorry to be blunt but extraction of oil from diatoms or other algae and then weighing is no longer an excepted method to determine lipid in algae. A useful reference is the web page oft the Algae Biomass Organisation/resourcecenter/ technical-standrds
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