Selection Guide Metabolite Analysis - Metabolomics Product Portfolio

Importance of the Topic

Metabolomics encompasses techniques for the global detection and quantification of small molecules produced by living systems. Changes in metabolite profiles serve as sensitive indicators of physiological and pathological states, underpinning applications in disease biomarker discovery, drug development, food quality control, and bioprocess optimization.

Study Objectives and Overview

The Selection Guide for Metabolite Analysis presents a comprehensive product portfolio from Shimadzu designed to support diverse metabolomics goals. It covers wide-target quantitative workflows, non-targeted high-resolution screening, spatial imaging of metabolites, lipid mediator profiling, chiral amino acid analysis, bile and short-chain fatty acid quantitation, and multi-omics data integration.

Methodology and Instrumentation

Shimadzu’s solutions integrate:

• GC-MS/MS (GCMS-TQ8050 NX) and LC-MS/MS (LCMS-8060) for high-throughput quantitative metabolomics of hundreds of compounds in a single run
• Q-TOF LC-MS (LCMS-9030) for non-targeted/metabolomics screening with high mass accuracy and resolution, paired with multivariate analysis software Signpost MS
• Imaging mass spectrometry (iMScope TRIO) for visualizing spatial distribution of bioactive molecules in tissues or plant sections
• Direct probe electrospray ionization MS (DPiMS-8060) for rapid analysis of metabolites without chromatographic separation
• Preconfigured databases and method packages covering primary metabolites, lipid mediators, phospholipids, amino acids, bile acids, and short-chain fatty acids
• Data processing and visualization software: Traverse MS for MRM data, LabSolutions Insight for quantitation workflows, and Multi-omics Analysis Package for pathway mapping and correlation analysis via GARUDA gadgets

Main Results and Discussion

Predefined LC-MS/MS and GC-MS(/MS) methods enable simultaneous quantification of up to 475 primary metabolites or 214 lipid mediators in under 20 minutes. Q-TOF workflows facilitate discovery of unknown metabolic fluctuations, exemplified by identification of N’-formylkynurenine in iPS cell culture. Imaging metabolomics applications demonstrated localization of green tea polyphenols in mouse kidney and pesticide distribution in tomato stems. Chiral amino acid profiling revealed intestinal flora-derived D-amino acids in mouse colon and plasma. Short-chain fatty acid panels differentiated antibiotic-treated and germ-free mouse fecal samples.

Benefits and Practical Applications

These integrated solutions deliver:

• Rapid setup via “ready-to-use” method packages; minimal method development time
• High sensitivity, broad dynamic range, and robust performance for reproducible quantitation
• Efficient non-targeted discovery combined with targeted follow-up analyses
• Spatially resolved metabolite mapping for tissue and plant studies
• Comprehensive multi-omics data handling and visualization to accelerate biological interpretation

Future Trends and Potential Uses

Emerging directions include parameter-free AI-driven peak picking to streamline data processing, further integration of direct sampling techniques for real-time monitoring, expansion of multi-omics platforms for combined metabolomic, proteomic, and fluxomics analysis, and enhanced imaging methods to resolve subcellular metabolite distributions.

Conclusion

Shimadzu’s metabolomics product portfolio offers a unified, versatile framework for both targeted and discovery-driven analyses across multiple applications. With streamlined workflows, comprehensive databases, and advanced software, these tools empower researchers to generate deep metabolic insights for biomedical research, food science, and industrial biotechnology.