Identification of the Fatty Acyl Residues Composition and Molecular Species of Phosphatidylcholines in Soy Lecithin Powder by UPLC–ESI-MS/MS

Abstract

The fatty acyl residues composition and molecular species of phosphatidylcholines (PCs) in soy lecithin powder were studied and characterized using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC–ESI-MS/MS) via a two-step procedure. ESI-MS/MS by precursor ion scan (PIS) m/z 184.1 in positive ion mode first detected isobaric PCs, and further identified positional isomers and fatty acyl residue composition in negative ion mode. The results showed that the fatty acyl residue composition was in strong agreement with that detected by the classical analysis method. Likewise, ten peaks of isobaric PCs were obtained by ESI-MS/MS analysis in positive ion mode, and 20 positional isomers of PCs were characterized in negative ion mode. Thus, this study presents a simple and powerful way to analyze fatty acyl residue composition and molecular species of PCs without destroying chemical structure.