Improving the Efficiency of Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Preparation Using Automated Sample Preparation Techniques

An automated method for esterifying fatty acids in canola oil samples is presented in this article. Using an automated sample preparation instrument, a side-by-side comparison was undertaken comparing a method for the automated system adapted from a previously published method to an analogous method performed manually. Using the automated system, preparation of 10 fatty acid standards resulted in an average relative standard deviation (MD) of 1.2% for an automated, acid-catalyzed reaction. This was compared to 10 standards prepared in the same way manually using pipettors, which resulted in an average MD of 2.7%. Furthermore, by adapting the published method for use on the automated system the total volume of reagents used was decreased by 50-fold. The automated system also provided a simple, straightforward process for method development that resulted in a shorter reaction time. Overall, the automated method resulted in better precision and accuracy with smaller amounts of reagents used and less time required from the operator to complete the task.