Polar metabolomics profiling and fingerprinting methodology

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Scope of the method

The Method relates to

Animal health
Environment
Human health

The Method is situated in

Basic Research
Translational - Applied Research

Type of method

In chemico

Description

Method keywords

metabolomics
mass spectrometry
Liquid chromatography
metabolic profiling
Metabolism
metabolic fingerprinting
biofluids
urine
feces
saliva
blood
cell culture
colon tissue

Scientific area keywords

analytical chemistry
metabolic disorders
inflammation
biofluids
cancer research
food allergy

Method description

Our polar metabolomics profiling and fingerprinting methodology applies ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid quadrupole-Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry. Both the instrumental method, as well as generic extraction protocols for colon tissue, cell cultures, urine, feces, plasma and saliva have been extensively validated in both a targeted as well as an untargeted fashion. The metabolomics workflow consists of a sample preparation, followed by the UPHLC-HRMS analysis, after which multivariate statistical analysis will be performed to identify potential biomarker candidates or altered pathways, associated with a specific metabolic state.

Lab equipment

HPLC ;
HR-Orbitrap-MS.

Method status

Internally validated
Published in peer reviewed journal

Pros, cons & Future potential

Advantages

The metabolome is considered as the endpoint of metabolism and is therefore influenced by amongst others the genes, the diet, the environment and the residing microbiome. As such, the measurement of the metabolome provides the most holistic image of the phenotype of a patient. Additionally, it provides both a qualitative as well as a quantitative functional read-out. Therefore, it can be considered the method of choice for hypothesis testing and hypothesis generation.

Challenges