Quantitative determination of medium chain triglycerides in infant formula by reverse phase HPLC

Two methods were developed for the separation of medium chain triglycerides (MCT) using reverse phase HPLC. Both methods employed a C18 microbond HPLC column as the stationary phase and an isocratic solvent system. The first method described consists of acetonitrile/acetone as the mobile phase with a differential refractometer as the detector. In the second method, acetonitrile/water was used as the mobile phase and a UV detector at 210 nm. Trinonanoin was used as the internal standard for quantitative determination. This method is suitable for milk-, whey- and soy protein-based matrices. With minor modification, it is applicable to MCT levels ranging from 10 to 50% of total fat.