Prof. M.S.F. Lie Ken Jie　　　李素華教授

B.Sc. (Special) H.K.;
Ph.D., D.Sc. St.Andrews and H.K.;
C. Chem.; F.R.S.C.; Chair of Chemistry

Our collection of synthetic unsaturated acids is one of the largest, containing polyunsaturated long chain fatty acids and cyclic derivatives including furanoid, tetrahydrofuranyl, epoxy, azido, amido, amino, selena, tellura and thia derivatives. All these compounds were synthesised either by total or partial synthesis.

The active unsaturated centres of the fatty acids are being exploited by various chemical means to yield more complex and interesting fatty acid derivatives. Cyclisation of resulting oxygenated fatty acids has been successfully achieved and work continues in this area through organometallic agents. Work on the use of ultrasound energy in chemical transformation of fatty esters has been very successful. Recently we have focussed on the reaction of C60 fullerene with fatty acid derivatives to obtain exotic fullerenoid lipid molecules.

One other aspect of studying the properties of unsaturated fatty acids and their derivatives has been to subject these compounds to a rigorous examination of their properties by modern analytical techniques. The properties of such compounds have been investigated using chromatography, spectroscopy and spectrometry. More than 200 synthetic triglycerides have been studied by NMR spectroscopy. The results show the ability of proton and carbon NMR spectroscopy in determining the structure of the acyl chains and their positional distribution on the glycerol backbone.

The enzymatic enrichments of polyunsaturated fatty acids into natural triglycerides are being studied. Work is now in progress to study the biotransformation of unusual fatty acids using lipases and other enzymes.

1. M.S.F. Lie Ken Jie and Fu Xun, Lipids, 1998, 33, 861-867.
2. M.S.F. Lie Ken Jie and Sunny W.H. Cheung, Lipids, 1998, 33, 729-732.
3. M.S.F. Lie Ken Jie and Mohammed Khysar Pasha, Nat. Prod. Report, 1998, 15, 607-630.
4. M.S.F. Lie Ken Jie and S.W.H. Cheung in Synthesis of Special Fatty Acids in Recent Developments in the Synthesis of Fatty Acid Derivatives (eds. G. Knothe, J.T.P. Derksen), Amer. Oil Chem. Soc. Press, Illinois 1999, pp. 20-43.
5. M.S.F. Lie Ken Jie, M.K. Pasha and M.S. Alam, in Adv. Conjugated Linoleic Acid Res., Amer. Oil Chem. Soc. Press, 1, 152-163.
6. M.S.F. Lie Ken Jie, Eur. J. Org. Chem., 2000, 3069-3073.
7. M.S.F. Lie Ken Jie, S.W.H. Cheung and J.C.M. Ho, Lipids, 2001, 36, 649-654.
8. M.S.F. Lie Ken Jie, Eur. J. Lipid Sci. Technol., 2001, 103, 628-632.
9. M.S.F. Lie Ken Jie, O. Bakare and M.M.L. Lau, Arkivoc, 2002, part (iii), Commemorative issue in Honor of Dr. Douglas Lloyd on his 80th Anniversary, article 21.
10. M.S.F. Lie Ken Jie, Xun Fu, M.M.L. Lau and M.L. Chye, Lipids, 2002, 10, 997-1006.