Chemistry of conjugated lipids

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Synthetic organic chemistry yields routes to change the properties of plant oils and many are well known but few of the processes can be made inexpensive enough to be applied to industrial practice. It is necessary, therefore, to reduce these processes to practice in order to produce the wide variety of value-added consumer and industrial products. The approach of this proposal is to develop more efficient industrial processes for converting vegetable oils to improved consumer and industrial products. The vegetable oils used in novel syntheses will be derived from Canadian crops with unique chemistry and/or low cost including canola, flax, high-oleic canola, solin flax, coriander, camelina and rapeseed.  Modified oils will be tested for relevant chemical and physical properties but it is not the intention of this research to formulate new products. Formulation of new products will be conducted by an array of Canadian companies and university collaborators who are currently studying and developing new products. When efficient syntheses and concentration methods are developed quantities of products sufficient for evaluation by collaborators will be prepared. This in kind or cash contribution will be supplied separately through collaboration.  Processes will be developed to inexpensively convert vegetable oils to products that: 1) remain liquid at low temperature (-40C); 2) have low viscosity (<4 cP); 3) have high viscosity (>200 cP); have high polarity; 4)have low polarity; 5) have enhanced oxidative stability (>10 h AOM).  Patented methods and trade secrets have been developed by the applicant to prepare alkyl esters and conjugate fatty acids for industrial applications. The project will result in the training of a Ph.D. and M.Sc. candidates and summer students. While exploring Diels-Alder chemistry and the modification of lipid properties the students will be mentored by a supervisor with significant experience in industrial process design and intellectual property protection.