I have been trying to find a site that would explain it to me, but I have not had any luck. I just need to understand the basics of omega and delta shorthand notations for fatty acids. I can go from there. Website/advice is appreciated. Thanks!|||Its not hard. "Omega" means that you start counting double bonds from the tail-end of the fatty acid. An omega-3 fatty acid, in this case, has a double bond on the third carbon from the end. The double bond extends from this carbon to the fourth from the end. "Omega" is the last Greek letter and it means "End."
The "delta" letters also indicate double bonds. It works the same way, but you start counting from the actual carbon number one. Carbon one, according to IUPAC rules, is the carbon on the carboxy end of the fatty acid. Therefore, delta-9 means that there is a double bond between carbons 9 and 10, delta-12 means that there is a double bond between carbons 12 and 13, and so on.
Type "palmitoleic acid" into google, and the first hit should be Wikipedia. Take a look at the picture of it. If you start counting on the right side (the side of the carboxy acid) and count to the left, the double bond should start on carbon 9.
In terms of omega, this would be an omega-7 fatty acid (starting on the left and counting carbons to the right), but this is not appropriate for this molecule.
"Z" simply means that the double bond is in a cis conformation. "E" would indicate a trans conformation.
Rather than typing in palmitoleic acid, just hit this link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmitoleic鈥?/a>
If you have any other questions, feel free to shoot me an email.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment