Lipids are the main components of biological membranes. They are not only the primary form of energy storage in living cells but also serve as mediators in cellular signal transmission. A lipidome consists of 8 major classes, over 80 main categories, 300 subclasses, and thousands of lipids at different concentrations. Lipidomics is the systematic study of all lipid molecules (>30,000 species) within a biological system, tissue, body fluid, or cell. Comprehensive identification and precise quantification of lipids are crucial for lipidomics research to better understand cell physiology and pathophysiology.
Nontargeted lipidomics can simultaneously analyze hundreds of different lipids, which is valuable for assessing individual health conditions. Differences in lipid profiles have been widely used in studies of cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and cardiovascular diseases. These detailed lipid profiles can be utilized to evaluate medical risks, monitor, and optimize patient treatment, forming the basis of the precision medicine concept. The application fields of nontargeted lipidomics include agricultural science, biomarkers, Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, obesity research, clinical diagnostics, drug discovery, and systems biology.
Nontargeted Lipidomics
Although lipids are major components in the metabolome, the insolubility of many lipids in aqueous solutions necessitates different approaches for their study compared to more water-soluble components of the metabolome. Mass spectrometry (MS) is the main technical platform for lipidomics analysis, while nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is also widely used in metabolomics research. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was previously the primary tool for lipid profile analysis, but gas-phase chromatography technology has been replaced by atmospheric pressure ionization (API) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) techniques coupled with MS. API is usually electrospray ionization (ESI), often connected to a liquid chromatography (LC) system for sample separation before MS analysis. MALDI mainly operates under vacuum and is usually not connected to an LC separation system but can be combined with thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plates. MALDI-MS imaging (MSI) is increasingly used in lipidomics analysis because it can provide spatial information about lipids in tissues. By measuring the mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) of ionized substances, MS can provide molecular weight information. Many modern mass spectrometers achieve a mass accuracy of 0.001–0.002 m/z, allowing for lipid profiling by database m/z searches or identification of ionized molecules using various commercial or open-source software. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) or multistage fragmentation (MSn) experiments can provide structural information.
Based on a highly stable, reproducible, and sensitive system for separation, characterization, identification, and quantification, BiotechPack provides reliable, fast, and cost-effective UPLC-Q-TOF nontargeted lipidomics services. Welcome to inquire!
