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Back to the OSAC Lexicon

Fatty Acid

a long chain alkyl group characterized by a terminal carboxyl group –COOH. 

DISCUSSION—Fatty acids are derivatized for analytical or commercial purposes, such as in an automotive fuel. A common derivatization replaces the terminal –COOH with –CO(OCH3), converting the fatty acid into a fatty acid methyl ester (FAME).

Committee
Ignitable Liquids, Explosives & Gunshot Residue
Date Added to Lexicon
Standard Source (Designation Number Title of Standard. Publisher, Place, Year.)
ANSI/ASTM E3197-23 Standard Terminology Relating to Examination of Fire Debris. ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428, 2023. Source link
Reprinted, with permission, from ASTM E1732-24e1 Standard Terminology Relating to Forensic Science, copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428. A copy of the complete standard is available from ASTM International, https://www.astm.org