Lipidomic analyses by mass spectrometry (MS) of epidermal ceramides, a large family of lipids crucial to the permeability barrier of the skin, have been reported previously. To ensure the accuracy of lipid identification, we describe here the isolation of mouse newborn epidermal lipids followed by fractionation with solid-phase extraction columns, and lipidomic analyses by high-resolution MS for structural identification. We also describe here the employment of thin layer chromatography, an old but useful tool, in facilitating the structural characterization of the epidermal lipid species by MS.
Keywords: Epidermal lipids; Mass spectrometry; Protein-bound lipids; Solid-phase extraction; Thin layer chromatography.