Lipids can usually be extracted easily from tissues by making use of their hydrophobic characteristics. However, such extractions yield a complex mixture of different lipid classes which have to be purified further for quantitative analysis. Moreover, the crude lipid extract will be contami nated by other hydrophobic molecules, e.g. by intrinsic membrane proteins. Of the various types of separation processes, thin layer and column chromatography are most useful for intact lipids. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is also rapidly becoming more popular, especially for the...

In the preface to the Second edition, we made a prediction that many exciting developments would take place in the coming years that would change the face of a new edition. This has indeed been the case and the current edition reflects these new advances. Our picture of the structure of the fatty acid synthetase has changed dramatically, bringing a new concept in enzymology - the multicatalytic polypeptide chain. This new knowledge owes much to the exploitation of genetic mutants, the use of which is undoubtedly going to extend into many other areas of lipid biochemistry. An understanding of...