Decanoylcarnitine is a member of the class of compounds known as acylcarnitines. Acylcarnitines are organic compounds containing a fatty acid with the carboxylic acid attached to carnitine through an ester bond. Thus, decanoylcarnitine is considered to be a fatty ester lipid molecule. Decanoylcarnitine is practically insoluble (in water) and a weakly acidic compound (based on its pKa). Decanoylcarnitine can be found in blood, feces, and urine. Within the cell, decanoylcarnitine is primarily located in the membrane. It can also be found in the extracellular space. Acylcarnitines are useful in the diagnosis of genetic disorders such as fatty acid oxidation disorders and differentiation between biochemical phenotypes of medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency disorders. Moreover, decanoylcarnitine is found to be associated with very long chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (VLAD) deficiency, glutaric aciduria II, and celiac disease, which are inborn errors of metabolism.