Fatty esters belong to the fatty acyls, and their structure consists of a fatty acid where the carboxyl group of the fatty acid is linked to a diverse range of substituents, including other hydrocarbon chains, via an ester bond. The chain may contain multiple double bonds and can be branched or linear, it may further feature oxygen and nitrogen containing substituents and carbon ring structures.
Fatty esters are present in all living organisms. The specific role of the fatty ester is impacted to a large extent by the composition of the hydrocarbon chain and the ester-linked substituent. For example, wax esters are a major class of storage compounds synthesized by bacteria. Acylcarnitines are critical to the oxidative metabolism of fatty acids and for energy metabolism. Lactones contribute to the aroma of fruits and dairy products.
Here you can read more about the analysis of fatty esters performed at Lipotype:
#FattyAcyls #lipid #lipidomics #MassSpectrometry #FattyEsters
