Advantages of the use of Microwave-assisted technology for lipid analysis

Lipids play a fundamental role in determining the nutritional quality, flavor, texture, and shelf life of food products. Understanding the lipid profile can help in assessing the overall nutritional value of food, including its content of essential fatty acids, cholesterol, and other bioactive compounds. Moreover, lipid analysis is essential for quality control and ensuring compliance with food labeling regulations. An accurate lipid profile can help food manufacturers optimize their production processes to have a benefit in the innovation of the food industry.
Given the increasing focus on sustainable methods, automated approaches that use reduced solvents and fewer hazardous chemicals for lipid analysis are now feasible.
In particular, Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) has emerged as a promising technique for lipid analysis, offering significant advantages over traditional extraction methods (AOCS official methods). By harnessing the power of microwaves, MAE accelerates the extraction process, reducing extraction times from hours to minutes while improving extraction efficiency. This rapid and efficient approach minimizes the degradation of sensitive lipid compounds, preserving their integrity and enhancing the accuracy of lipid profiling. Additionally, MAE reduces solvent consumption and energy expenditure, making it a more environmentally friendly alternative. Overall, microwave-assisted extraction presents a compelling case for its adoption in lipid analysis, providing researchers with a fast, efficient, and sustainable method for extracting and analyzing lipids from various matrices.
Given the clear benefits in terms of time and throughput, MAE is already recognized as a well-established method for total lipid extraction, but its potential can go even further. In fact, my research group studied the use of microwaves to extract the lipid fraction and derivatize simultaneously, developing a one-step microwave-assisted extraction and derivatization (MAED) for FAMEs analysis in different food products.
In this study, the potentiality of various microwave-assisted processes was investigated. For the analysis of lipids, different types of microwave-assisted extraction and derivatization were proposed, proving to be satisfactory for the purpose and comparable in terms of results to official methods. However, they showcased a greener aspect due to the automation of processes and the use of microwaves.