The Lipid Library

Dr. William Walker Christie

M.B.E., B.Sc., Ph.D., D.Sc., F.R.S.E.

'Bill' Christie was formerly Head of the Chemistry Department at The Scottish Crop Research Institute and on 'retirement' became a consultant to Mylnefield Lipid Analysis, where he continues to dabble in the analysis of lipids. He originated and maintained this website entirely as a spare time activity. With the transfer of ownership to AOCS in 2009, he is now Editor-in-Chief of the site. His main research interests involved structural analysis of lipids, especially -

• Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of fatty acids
• Chromatographic analysis of lipids (gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography)
• Stereospecific analysis of lipids
• Class separation of complex lipids
• Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)

He was awarded an MBE in the Queen's New Year's Honours list in 2000, and he has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In addition, Dr Christie has received awards for presentation of 'outstanding' papers at meetings of the American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS), and in 1995 received the Herbert J. Dutton Award of the AOCS 'in recognition of his contribution to analytical methodology in relation to oils, fats and lipids'. He received the Alton E. Bailey Award of the AOCS in 2004 'for exceptional service in the field of lipids and associated products'. In addition to his role with this web site, he is currently a member of the editorial advisory boards of Lipids, Lipid Technology, European Journal of Lipid Science and Technology and Gracas y Aceitas, and was the founder of the Oily Press Ltd.

Further Information

Dr Christie is a graduate of the Chemistry Department of the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where he also obtained his Ph.D., under the supervision of the eminent lipid chemist Professor F.D. Gunstone.

Dr Christie is probably best known for his work on developing novel analytical methodology for lipids, and his books are the standard texts on the subject. For example:

• He has used picolinyl esters and dimethyloxazoline derivatives extensively for the structural analysis of fatty acids, and has mass spectra of more than 400 fatty acids on file.
• A special expertise has been developed for analysis of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
• Silver ion chromatography was first adapted to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in his laboratory, and it was applied to analysis of fatty acids (including trans isomers) and molecular species of triacylglycerols.
• He was among the first to use evaporative-light scattering detectors for lipid analysis, and have developed methodology for separations of all the simple and complex lipids in a single chromatographic run. This detector is also used in many other applications including reversed-phase HPLC of fatty acid derivatives, triacylglycerols, and diacylglycerols (derivatized) prepared from glyco- and phospholipids.
• Novel methodology involving chiral chromatography was developed for stereospecific analysis of triacyl-sn-glycerols.

His second research interest is to apply this novel methodology to problems of lipid chemistry, biochemistry and physiology in plants and plant products. For example:

• He has characterized a large number of novel fatty acids in seed oils of plant species, that may have nutritional or industrial value, and which certainly pose important biosynthetic questions. For example, arachidonic acid was recently found for the first time in a seed oil.
• The structures of the cyclic fatty acids formed in heated frying oils have been fully elucidated.
• Many novel fatty acids have been identified from sponges.

Selected Publications

A full publication list contains details of approximately 360 items. The first major item is a book, "Lipid Analysis" (Pergamon Press), published first in 1973, before it was extensively rewritten and a second edition published in 1982, followed by a third in 2003 (a fourth written jointly with Xianlin Han is now in press). More than 7000 copies of the first three editions have been sold and it is the standard work in its field. A further book on "High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Lipids" was published in 1987 and a companion volume on "Gas Chromatography and Lipids" appeared in 1989 (from The Oily Press) - now available online here. In addition, a full publication list includes 38 major review articles, 185 refereed papers and many other articles.

Books

• Lipid Analysis - third edition. Christie, W.W. The Oily Press, Bridgwater (2003) (A fourth edition is in press).
• Trans Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition. Sébédio, J.L. and Christie, W.W. (editors), The Oily Press, Dundee, 320 pages (1998).
• Advances in Lipid Methodology - One to Four. Christie, W.W. (editor) The Oily Press, Ayr/Dundee. (1992 to 1997).
• Gas Chromatography and Lipids: a Practical Guide. Christie, W.W. The Oily Press, Ayr., 307 pages, 1014 references (1989).
• High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Lipids: a Practical Guide. Christie, W.W. Pergamon Books, Oxford. 272 pages, 916 references (1987).

Selected Refereed Papers and Review Articles

• Christie, W.W., Dobson, G. and Adlof, R.O. A practical guide to the isolation, analysis and identification of conjugated linoleic acid. Lipids, 42, 1073-1084 (2007).
• Sayanova, O., Haslam, R., Guschina, I., Lloyd, D., Christie, W.W., Harwood, J.L. and Napier, J.A. A bifunctional Δ12, Δ15 desaturase from Acanthamoeba castellanii directs the synthesis of highly unusual n-1 series fatty acids. J. Biol. Chem., 281, 36533-36541 (2006)
• Nechev, J., Christie, W.W., Robaina, R., de Diego, F., Popov, S. and Stefanov, K. Chemical composition of the sponge Hymeniacidon sanguinea from the Canary Islands. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. A, 137, 365-374 (2004).
• Christie, W.W. 13-Phenyltridec-9-enoic and 15-phenylpentadec-9-enoic acids in Arum maculatum seed oil. Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol., 105, 779-780 (2003).
• Christie, W.W. Analysis of conjugated linoleic acid - an overview. In: Advances in Conjugated Linoleic Acid Research, Volume 2., pp. 1-12 (edited by J.L. Sebedio, W.W. Christie & R.O. Adlof, AOCS Press, Champaign, IL.) (2003).
• Nikolova-Damyanova,B., Dobson,G., Momchilova,S. and Christie,W.W. Cyclohexanediol fatty acid diesters as model compounds for mechanistic studies in silver ion high-performance liquid chromatography. J. Liquid. Chromatogr. Rel. Technol., 26, 1905-1912 (2003).
• Tsevegsuren,N., Fujimoto,K., Christie,W.W. and Endo,Y. Occurrence of a novel cis,cis,cis-octadeca-3,9,12-trienoic (Z,Z,Z-octadeca-3,9,12-trienoic) acid in Chrysanthemum (Tanacetum) zawadskii Herb. (Compositae) seed oil. Lipids, 38, 573-578 (2003).
• Nechev,J., Christie,W.W., Robaina,R., de Diego,F.M., Ivanova,A., Popov,S. and Stefanov,K. Chemical composition of the sponge Chondrosia reniformis from the Canary Islands. Hydrobiologia, 489, 91-98 (2002).
• Damyanova,B., Momtchilova,S., Bakalova,S., Zuilhof,H., Christie,W.W. and Kaneti,J. Computational probes into the conceptual basis of silver ion chromatography: I. Silver(I) ion complexes of unsaturated fatty acids and esters. J. Mol. Structure - THEOCHEM., 589-590, 239-249 (2002).
• Horrobin, D.F., Jenkins, K., Bennett, C.N. and Christie, W.W. Eicosapentaenoic acid and arachidonic acid: collaboration and not antagonism is the key to biological understanding. Prostaglandins Leukotrienes Essential Fatty Acids, 66, 83-90 (2002).
• Wolff,R.L. and Christie,W.W. Structures, practical sources (gymnosperm seeds), gas-liquid chromatographic data (equivalent chain lengths), and mass spectrometric characteristics of all-cis 5-olefinic acids. Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol., 104, 234-244 (2002).
• Dobson,G. and Christie,W.W. Mass spectrometry of fatty acid derivatives. Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol., 104, 36-43 (2002).
• Wolff, R.L., Christie, W.W., Aitzetmüller, K., Pasquier, E., Pédrono, F., Destaillats, F. and Marpeau, A.M. Arachidonic and eicosapentaenoic acids in Araucariaceae, a unique feature among seed plants. Oléagineaux, Corps gras Lipides, 7, 113-117 (2000).
• Nikolova-Damyanova, B., Momchilova, S. and Christie,W.W. Silver ion high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of conjugated linoleic acid isomers, and other fatty acids, after conversion to p-methoxyphenacyl derivatives. J. High Resol. Chromatogr., 23, 348-352 (2000).
• Christie, W.W., Robertson, G.W., McRoberts, W.C. and Hamilton, J.T.G. Mass spectrometry of the 4,4-dimethyloxazoline derivatives of isomeric octadecenoates (monoenes). Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol., 102, 23-29 (2000).
• Hamilton, J.T.G. and Christie, W.W. Mechanisms for ion formation during the electron impact-mass spectrometry of picolinyl ester and 4,4-dimethyloxazoline derivatives of fatty acids. Chem. Phys. Lipids, 105, 93-104 (2000).
• Sebedio, J.L., Vermunt, S.H.F., Chardigny, J.M., Beaufrere, B., Mensink, R.P., Armstrong, R.A., Christie, W.W., Niemela, J., Henon, G. and Riemersma, R.A. The effect of dietary trans alpha-linolenic acid on plasma lipids and platelet fatty acid composition: the TransLinE study. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr., 54, 104-113 (2000).
• Wolff,R.L., Christie, W.W., Pédrono, F. and Marpeau, A.M. Arachidonic, eicosapentaenoic and biosynthetically related fatty acids in the seed lipids from a primitive Gymnosperm, Agathis robusta. Lipids, 34, 183-1097 (1999).
• Christie, W.W.  Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry methods for structural analysis of fatty acids. Lipids, 33, 343-353 (1998).
• Christie, W.W., Hamilton, J.T.G. and Harper, D.B. Mass spectrometry of fluorinated fatty acids in the seed oil of Dichapetalum toxicarium. Chem. Phys. Lipids, 97, 41-47 (1998).
• Tsevegsuren, N., Christie, W.W. and Lösel, D. Tanacetum (Chrysanthemum) corymbosum seed oil - a rich source of a novel conjugated acetylenic acid. Lipids, 33, 723-727 (1998).
• Christie, W.W. Mass spectrometry of fatty acids with methylene-interrupted ene-yne systems. Chem. Phys. Lipids, 94, 35-41 (1998).
• Christie, W.W., Gill, S., Nordbäck, J., Itabashi, Y., Sanda, S. and Slabas, A.R. New procedures for rapid screening of leaf lipid components from Arabidopsis. Phytochemical Anal., 9, 53-57 (1998).
• Sayanova, O., Smith, M.A., Lapinskas, P., Stobart, A.K., Dobson, G., Christie, W.W., Shewry, P.R. and Napier, J.A. Expression of a borage desaturase cDNA containing an N-terminal cytochrome b₅ domain results in the accumulation of high levels of Δ6-desaturated fatty acids in transgenic tobacco. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 94, 4211-4216 (1997).
• Berdeaux, O., Christie, W.W., Gunstone, F.D. and Sébédio, J.L. Large-scale synthesis of methyl cis-9,trans-11-octadecadienoate from methyl ricinoleate. J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc., 74, 1011-1015 (1997).
• Sébédio, J.L., Juanéda, P., Dobson, G., Ramilison, I., Martin, J.C., Chardigny, J.M. and Christie, W.W. Metabolites of conjugated isomers of linoleic acid (CLA) in the rat. Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 1345, 5-10 (1997).
• Joh, Y.-G., Elenkov, I.J., Stefanov, K.L., Popov, S.S., Dobson, G. and Christie, W.W. Novel di-, tri- and tetraenoic fatty acids with bis-methylene-interrupted double bond systems from the sponge Haliclona cinerea. Lipids, 32, 13-17 (1997).
• Nikolova-Damyanova, B., Christie, W.W. and Herslöf, B.G. Mechanistic aspects of fatty acid retention in silver ion chromatography. J. Chromatogr. A, 749, 47-54 (1996).
• Brough, C.L., Coventry, J.M., Christie, W.W., Kroon, J.T.M., Brown, A.P., Barsby, T.L. and Slabas, A.R. Towards the genetic engineering of triacylglycerols of defined fatty acid composition: major changes in erucic acid content at the sn-2 position affected by the introduction of 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyl-transferase from Limnanthes douglasii into oil seed rape. Molecular Breeding, 2, 133-142 (1996).

	Scottish Crop Research Institute (and MRS Lipid Analysis Unit), Invergowrie, Dundee (DD2 5DA), Scotland.
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