Gas chromatography–vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy for analysis of fatty acid methyl esters

•A vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) detector for gas chromatography and its application in fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis.•VUV measures gas phase absorption in 115–240nm region where all chemical species absorb.•Saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and cis/trans-FAMEs can be differentiated.•Coeluted peaks can be deconvolved in the VUV detector.•Analysis was applied to a variety of food oils. A new vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) detector for gas chromatography was recently developed and applied to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis. VUV detection features full spectral acquisition in a wavelength range of 115–240nm, where virtually all chemical species absorb. VUV absorption spectra of 37 FAMEs, including saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated types were recorded. Unsaturated FAMEs show significantly different gas phase absorption profiles than saturated ones, and these classes can be easily distinguished with the VUV detector. Another advantage includes differentiating cis/trans-isomeric FAMEs (e.g. oleic acid methyl ester and linoleic acid methyl ester isomers) and the ability to use VUV data analysis software for deconvolution of co-eluting signals. As a universal detector, VUV also provides high specificity, sensitivity, and a fast data acquisition rate, making it a powerful tool for fatty acid screening when combined with gas chromatography. The fatty acid profile of several food oil samples (olive, canola, vegetable, corn, sunflower and peanut oils) were analyzed in this study to demonstrate applicability to real world samples.