1‐O‐alkyl‐2,3‐diacylglycerols in the skin surface lipids of the hairless mouse

A neutral lipid class was isolated by thin‐layer chromatography from the skin surface lipids of the hairless mouse. The fraction migrated faster than triglycerides and had a migration rate similar to that of diacyl alkanediols (diester wax). Upon deacylation, however, the long‐chain diols were identified as 1‐alkylglycerol ethers based on their chromatographic properties and on the mass spectra of their nicotinylidene derivatives. Thus, the skin lipid fraction was identified as 1‐O‐alkyl‐diacylglycerol. The alkyl moieties were all saturated and even‐numbered and ranged in chainlength from C16 to C22 with 1‐O‐hexadecylglycerol amounting to 34% of the total glycerol ether moieties. The fatty acids derived from this lipid fraction were mostly monoenoic with chainlengths ranging from C16 to C24. The major acyl component was eicosenoic acid (20∶1) representing 61% of the total fatty acids.