The Metabolomics Unit @ IVS
Metabolomics is the study of variations in endogenous metabolites in biological materials. The metabolome represents the complete array of metabolites in a biological cell, tissue, organ or organism, which are the products of cellular processes. Profiling the metabolome provides an instantaneous snapshot of the physiology of a cell or tissue, and thus, a direct “functional readout of the physiological state” of an organism. This in turn can provide key information relating to changes in cell and tissue function during, for example, differentiation and disease development.
The Metabolomics Unit @IVS aims to use and develop mass spectrometry based methods to characterize the relationship between lipid/small molecule metabolism and cardio-pulmonary diseases. The clinical translation of the results from these studies can deliver new diagnostic tests as well as identify new targets for therapeutic interventions to treat chronic disease. Our unit is equipped with three state-of-the-art mass spectrometers, which are used for the identification and quantification of small molecules, metabolites and lipids.
We regularly quantify hundreds of metabolites, in particular oxylipins (which are lipid mediators with polyunsaturated fatty acid residues), acyl-CoAs, amino acids, secondary amines, complex lipids and metabolites of the TCA cycle, pentose phosphate pathway and glycolysis. We also perform 13C-tracing/flux analysis for specific molecules e.g. 13C-glucose. Standardized procedures are in place to extract metabolites from a variety of biological fluids and tissues, e.g. from human plasma, skin, brain, heart and cell culture. Our expertise is continually expanding with each new project and each request to address a novel pathway.
We also provide advice on study design, including sample harvesting, sample treatment (e.g. the use of protease inhibitors), minimal required sample size (for statistical power) and sample amount (to ensure target pathway coverage; in mg, µl or cell number). Moreover, we will ensure proper instrument tuning and calibration, and include quality controls and standards for relative or absolute quantification.
The unit operates on a fee-for-service basis.
For those more interested in the technical details…
Once the metabolites are extracted, they are transferred to MS Vials or 96-well plates and placed into an auto sampler, which injects a small sample volume into the LC/MS or GC/MS system. For targeted compound screenings, we use
the QTrap5500 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer coupled to high performance liquid chromatography and the ISQ7000 single-quadrupole gas chromatography mass spectrometer. Both instruments enable the quantification of different compound
groups and therefore complement each other. For untargeted metabolomics, we use the Orbitrap QExactive mass spectrometer coupled to ultra-high performance liquid chromatography.
Study design
We can provide advice on your study design, including sample harvest, sample treatment (e.g. the use of protease inhibitors), minimal required sample size (for statistical power) and sample amount (to ensure target pathway coverage;
in mg, µl or cell number). Moreover, we will ensure proper instrument tuning and calibration, and include quality controls and standards for relative or absolute quantification.