Carbon Isotopes in Individual Hydrocarbons Separated from Bulk Organic Matter in Marine Samples

高压液相色谱（HPLC）技术将在 用于从总有机物的复杂混合物中分离 沿海海洋沉积物中的碳足够几个纯 用于碳同位素分析的单个脂质化合物 单一化合物 这样做的地球化学原理是 更有价值和具体的过程导向信息， 将通过测定13 c/12 c比率获得， 比14 c活动在个别化合物比从 对总有机碳或各类 化合物. 13 c/12 c比率应该揭示 这些化合物主要来自海洋浮游生物， 地球衍生的，14 c活动将揭示何时 它们是形成的。 毫克分离的关键 纯度超过95%的每种化合物的量是 简单、非水、反相HPLC技术， 一直被环境化学家所忽视。

High pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques will be used to separate from the complex mixture of total organic carbon in coastal marine sediments enough of several pure individual lipid compounds for carbon isotopic analyses on the single compounds. The geochemical rationale for doing so is that more valuable and specific process oriented information will be obtained from determinations of 13c/12c ratios and ratios 14c activities in individual compounds than from measurements on either total organic C or on classes of compounds. The 13c/12c ratios should reveal whether the compounds are primarily derived from marine plankton or are terrestrially derived, and the 14c activities will reveal when they were formed. The key to the isolation of milligram amounts of each compound in purities exceeding 95% is a straightforward, nonaqueous, reverse phase HPLC technique which has so far been overlooked by environmental chemists.