A Review on Role of LC-MS in Metabolomics

Abstract

Metabolomics, a replacement and rapidly growing area directed to the great analysis of metabolites of biological objects. Metabolites are characterized by various physical and chemical properties, traditionally studied by methods of analytical chemistry focused on certain groups of chemical substances. Metabolomics aims at identification and quantitation of small molecules involved in metabolic reactions. LC-MS has enjoyed a growing popularity because the platform for metabolomic studies thanks to its high throughput, soft ionization, and good coverage of metabolites. Because of significant improvements in LC-MS technology, metabolomics is increasingly used as a tool to discriminate the responses of organisms to varied stimuli or drugs. This review presents a workflow of a typical LC-MS-based metabolomic analysis for identification and quantitation of metabolites indicative of biological/environmental perturbations.