The Lipid Assay Kit (unsaturated fatty acids) (ab242305) measures the lipid content (unsaturated fatty acids only) of samples using the sulfo-phospho-vanillin method resulting in a simple colorimetric readout amenable to multi-well plate detection.

First, a crude or purified lipid source is applied to a 96 well plate. Then concentrated sulfuric acid is added and the samples are heated to solubilize and prime the total lipid sample, followed by the addition of vanillin in an acid solution. The lipids react with vanillin in the presence of the acids to form a colorimetric product that is easily detected on a microplate reader.