Analytical pitfalls and challenges in clinical metabolomics

Isabelle Kohler, Aswin Verhoeven, Rico JE Derks, Martin Giera*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Metabolomics-based strategies have become an integral part of modern clinical research, allowing for a better understanding of pathophysiological conditions and disease mechanisms, as well as providing innovative tools for more adequate diagnostic and prognosis approaches. Metabolomics is considered an essential tool in precision medicine, which aims for personalized prevention and tailor-made treatments. Nevertheless, multiple pitfalls may be encountered in clinical metabolomics during the entire workflow, hampering the quality of the data and, thus, the biological interpretation. This review describes the challenges underlying metabolomics-based experiments, discussing step by step the potential pitfalls of the analytical process, including study design, sample collection, storage, as well as preparation, chromatographic and electrophoretic separation, detection and data analysis. Moreover, it offers practical solutions and strategies to tackle these challenges, ensuring the generation of high-quality data.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1509-1532
Number of pages24
JournalBioanalysis
Volume8
Issue number14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • capillary electrophoresis
  • clinical metabolomics
  • data analysis
  • GC
  • LC
  • lipidomics
  • MS
  • NMR

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