Metabolomics
Targeted Metabolomics
Targeted metabolomics focuses on the precise measurement of specific groups of metabolites that have been previously chemically characterized and biochemically annotated. This approach targets a defined set of metabolic compounds—such as organic acids, amino acids, nucleotides, lipids, and other relevant biomolecules—allowing for highly accurate quantitative or semi-quantitative data acquisition. By providing this level of precision, targeted metabolomics enables the identification of associations between particular metabolites and specific physiological or pathological states, facilitating the discovery of reliable biomarkers and a deeper understanding of the underlying metabolic mechanisms.
This approach is especially valuable when there is prior knowledge about the metabolites of interest or the metabolic pathways involved, as it allows the development of highly sensitive and selective analytical methods capable of detecting metabolites at very low concentrations in complex biological matrices. Furthermore, targeted metabolomics is well-suited for validation and monitoring studies, such as clinical or toxicological investigations, where accurate quantification of specific metabolites is critical for assessing health status or exposure levels.
Untargeted Metabolomics
Untargeted metabolomics represents a more comprehensive and exploratory approach, measuring a wide range of metabolites simultaneously within a sample without the need to predefine which specific compounds to analyze. This strategy does not require a prior hypothesis about which metabolites are involved, thereby offering an unbiased, global view of the metabolic profile of an organism or tissue.
Untargeted analysis allows for the acquisition of detailed, high-resolution data on thousands of metabolites, including those that are not yet fully characterized or previously unexpected. This enables the discovery of novel biomarkers, metabolic pathways, or biochemical changes potentially linked to particular physiological conditions, diseases, or environmental exposures. Leveraging advanced analytical techniques such as high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) and multivariate statistical analysis, significant insights can be extracted from large metabolomic datasets, facilitating the generation of new research hypotheses.
Therefore, the untargeted approach is particularly valuable in exploratory and discovery studies, where the goal is to comprehensively and systematically understand metabolic variations and identify potential new targets for further investigation.
SERVICES
- Untargeted Analysis of a Single Sample
- Large-scale untargeted metabolomic analysis and sample comparison, without prior metabolite identification. This includes data matrix extraction from chromatographic analyses, statistical analysis, and identification of the most discriminant signals contributing to sample separation.
- Lipid Profiling in Biological Matrices: Comprehensive lipid profiling in complex biological samples such as cells, tissues, or biofluids, using advanced mass spectrometry techniques.
- Method Development and Validation: Development and validation of analytical methods for the qualitative and quantitative determination of biologically relevant molecules in complex matrices (e.g., cells, tissues, biological fluids, plant extracts).
- Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Approaches
- Profiling of oxidative stress-related metabolites
- Indolome profiling in plasma and complex matrices
- Hair mineral analysis (mineralogram)
- Detection of endogenous molecules or exogenous contaminants in hair samples
Targeted Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of:
Bile acids
Acylcarnitines
Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)
Fatty acids
Organic acids
Amino acids
Bisphenols
Krebs cycle metabolites
Tryptophan pathway metabolites
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Environmental contaminants:
- Dioxins and furans
- PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances)
- Phthalates
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Pharmaceutical compounds (drugs)
Lipids (e.g., phosphatidylcholines (PCs), phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs), monoacylglycerols (MAGs), diacylglycerols (DAGs), ceramides, etc.)
Pesticide metabolites
Heavy metals
Mycotoxins
Hormones
Oxylipins
Pesticides
Polyamines
Polyphenols
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs)
Steroids and sterols
Xenobiotics in complex biological matrices
All analytical services include:
Specific consultancy for defining the most appropriate strategies to solve the problems at hand. Metabolomic analysis is possible on cells, tissues, or biological fluids. Data storage for at least three years; conversion of data into a publication-ready format; a scientific report signed by the service director on the analyses performed (upon request). Specific agreements can be arranged for multiple analyses or for many samples.
The analysis includes: (a) sample preparation and extraction, (b) metabolic profiling of low-molecular-weight metabolites based on MS techniques, (c) pattern recognition approaches and bioinformatic data analysis.
