Synthesis of Deuterated and Protiated Triacylglycerides by Using 1,1’-Carbonyldiimidazole Activated Fatty Acids

Abstract

Synthetic model triacylglyceride oils are important compounds for applications in pharmaceutical and food chemistry. Herein, a practical and highly efficient methodology for the synthesis of saturated and unsaturated triacylglycerides utilizing saturated and unsaturated fatty acids activated by 1,1’-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) has been developed and applied in the synthesis of deuterated medium chain triglyceride (MCT) oil for studies of plant-based and diary food emulsions. The deuterium labelled compounds were used to gain new insight into the mechanism of the reaction, which was confirmed by density-functional theory (DFT) calculations.