Gas chromatography system for basic research on the role of lipids on human health and disease

膳食脂肪对人类健康和疾病都有重要作用。脂肪酸是膳食脂肪的重要组成部分。在自然界中，有许多不同类型的脂肪酸，它们的化学结构不同，因此具有不同的生物功能。脂肪酸的数量和类型是最佳健康和疾病的决定因素。例如，高脂肪饮食与肥胖和心血管疾病有关，这可能会因食用部分氢化油衍生的反式脂肪而变得更糟。相比之下，从海洋油中加入omega-3脂肪酸可能会产生积极影响，并抵消高脂肪饮食的一些有害影响。总的来说，脂肪酸对许多慢性疾病的病因有重要作用，包括肥胖、糖尿病、代谢综合征和癌症。然而，脂肪酸促进最佳健康和疾病的确切机制尚不完全清楚。我们的研究团队对膳食脂肪酸影响一系列细胞过程的机制以及特定脂肪酸如何导致肥胖、糖尿病、代谢综合征和癌症等疾病感兴趣。为了实现这一目标，我们非常需要一套气相色谱仪系统，它将为我们提供从食品和生物来源中识别和定量脂肪酸的分析能力。该仪器将填补8名研究人员的重大研究需求。这将使研究生能够进行脂肪酸分析，这是完成论文研究不可或缺的一部分。

Dietary fat contributes importantly to both human health and disease. Fatty acids are important constituents of dietary fat. In nature, there are a great number of different types of fatty acids which differ in chemical structure and hence biological function.   The amount and type of fatty acids are determinants of optimum health and disease. For example, high dietary fat is associated with obesity and cardiovascular disease, which may be made worse through the consumption of trans fats derived from partially hydrogenated oils. In contrast, the inclusion of omega-3 fatty acids from marine oils may have a positive influence and negate some of the deleterious effects of a high fat diet.     Overall, fatty acids contribute significantly to the etiology of many chronic diseases including, obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cancer.  However, the exact mechanisms by which fatty acids contribute to optimum health and disease is not fully understood. Our team of investigators are interested in mechanisms by which dietary fatty acids influence a range of cellular processes and how specific fatty acids contribute to diseases such as obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cancer.  Towards this goal, we are in great need of a Gas Chromatograph System, which will provide us with the analytical capability of identifying and quantifying fatty acids from food and biological sources. This instrument will fill a significant research need of 8 investigators. This will enable graduate students to perform fatty acid analyses which are integral to the completion of thesis research.