Sub-nanoliter metabolomics via mass spectrometry to characterize volume-limited samples.
Yafeng LiMarcos BouzaChangsheng WuHengyu GuoDanning HuangJohnna S TemenoffJohnna S TemenoffArlene A StecenkoZhong Lin WangFacundo M FernándezPublished in: Nature communications (2020)
The human metabolome provides a window into the mechanisms and biomarkers of various diseases. However, because of limited availability, many sample types are still difficult to study by metabolomic analyses. Here, we present a mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics strategy that only consumes sub-nanoliter sample volumes. The approach consists of combining a customized metabolomics workflow with a pulsed MS ion generation method, known as triboelectric nanogenerator inductive nanoelectrospray ionization (TENGi nanoESI) MS. Samples tested with this approach include exhaled breath condensate collected from cystic fibrosis patients as well as in vitro-cultured human mesenchymal stromal cells. Both test samples are only available in minimum amounts. Experiments show that picoliter-volume spray pulses suffice to generate high-quality spectral fingerprints, which increase the information density produced per unit sample volume. This TENGi nanoESI strategy has the potential to fill in the gap in metabolomics where liquid chromatography-MS-based analyses cannot be applied. Our method opens up avenues for future investigations into understanding metabolic changes caused by diseases or external stimuli.
Keyphrases
- mass spectrometry
- liquid chromatography
- gas chromatography
- endothelial cells
- high resolution mass spectrometry
- cystic fibrosis
- capillary electrophoresis
- high performance liquid chromatography
- tandem mass spectrometry
- end stage renal disease
- high resolution
- chronic kidney disease
- induced pluripotent stem cells
- pluripotent stem cells
- newly diagnosed
- bone marrow
- simultaneous determination
- multiple sclerosis
- peritoneal dialysis
- optical coherence tomography
- solid phase extraction
- ms ms
- health information
- human health
- risk assessment
- climate change
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- magnetic resonance