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Analysis of Lipids and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons as Indicators of Past and Present (Micro)Biological Activity

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Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols

Part of the book series: Springer Protocols Handbooks ((SPH))

Abstract

Analysis of lipids and hydrocarbons is performed frequently in recent and ancient plant tissues, soils, sediments, peat deposits, oil, rocks, anthropogenic artifacts (archeological samples), and other materials to trace the contribution of different biological and anthropogenic sources of organic matter as well as environmental changes and the fate of organic matter like degradation. The approaches for the analysis of lipids and hydrocarbons strongly vary from traditional methodologies like thin-layer chromatography to universal approaches like pyrolysis, whereas the preparative separation of lipid fractions based on their polarity enables gas-chromatographic analyses of single fractions and compound-specific analysis of stable (2H/1H, 13C/12C) and radioactive (14C) isotope compositions. Often, lipid extraction operationally defines a subfraction of total lipids. On the one hand, free extractable lipids are obtained by extraction with organic solvents, whereas on the other hand, total samples or extraction residues are extracted for more polar lipid fractions using highly polar organic solvents and water, to release bound lipids. Procedures for extraction of free extractable lipids are diverse and mainly defined by the target of research and availability of instrumentation. In the current protocol, state-of-the-art techniques for the investigation of free extractable lipids in various materials are explained, which can be applied even in laboratory environments with limited technical equipment. The protocols cover sample preparation, extraction, purification, analysis, as well as a brief overview of the data evaluation using lipid molecular proxies and compound-specific isotopes.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Guido L. B. Wiesenberg & Martina I. Gocke

Authors
  1. Guido L. B. Wiesenberg
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  2. Martina I. Gocke
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guido L. B. Wiesenberg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom

    Terry J. McGenity

  2. Institute of Microbiology, Technical University Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany

    Kenneth N. Timmis

  3. Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands and Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, UIB-CSIC), Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Balbina Nogales

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Wiesenberg, G.L.B., Gocke, M.I. (2015). Analysis of Lipids and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons as Indicators of Past and Present (Micro)Biological Activity. In: McGenity, T., Timmis, K., Nogales, B. (eds) Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols. Springer Protocols Handbooks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/8623_2015_157

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/8623_2015_157

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-52791-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-52793-1

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