Untargeted Metabolic Phenotyping by LC-MS

Untargeted analysis by LC-MS is a valuable tool for metabolic profiling (metabonomics/metabolomics), and applications of this technology have grown rapidly over the past decade. LC-MS offers advantages of speed, sensitivity, relative ease of sample preparation, and large dynamic range compared to other platforms in this role. However, like any analytical approach, there are still drawbacks and challenges that have to be overcome, some of which are being addressed by advances in both column chemistries and instrumentation. In particular, the combination of LC-MS with ion mobility offers many new possibilities for improved analyte separation, detection, and structural identification. There are many untargeted LC-MS approaches which can be applied to metabolic phenotyping, and these usually need to be optimized for the type of sample, the nature of the study, or the biological question. Some of the main LC-MS approaches for untargeted metabolic phenotyping are described in detail in the following protocol.