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Probing the application range and selectivity of a differential mobility spectrometry–mass spectrometry platform for metabolomics

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Abstract

Metabolomics applications of differential mobility spectrometry (DMS)–mass spectrometry (MS) have largely concentrated on targeted assays and the removal of isobaric or chemical interferences from the signals of a small number of analytes. In the work reported here, we systematically investigated the application range of a DMS-MS method for metabolomics using more than 800 authentic metabolite standards as the test set. The coverage achieved with the DMS-MS platform was comparable to that achieved with chromatographic methods. High orthogonality was observed between hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography and the 2-propanol-mediated DMS separation, and previously observed similarities were confirmed for the DMS platform and reversed-phase liquid chromatography. We describe the chemical selectivity observed for selected subsets of the metabolite test set, such as lipids, amino acids, nucleotides, and organic acids. Furthermore, we rationalize the behavior and separation of isomeric aromatic acids, bile acids, and other metabolites.

Differential mobility spectrometry–mass spectrometry (DMS-MS) facilitates rapid separation of metabolites of similar mass-to-charge ratio by distributing them across the compensation voltage range on the basis of their different molecular structures.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported in part by the Postdoctoral Translational Scholar Program of the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (UL1TR000433 to SW) and National Institutes of Health grants K08DK106523 (to FA) and P30DK089503, DK082841, P30DK081943, U2C ES026553, and DK097153 (to SP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University of Michigan, 5309 Brehm Center, 1000 Wall Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, USA

    Stefanie Wernisch, Farsad Afshinnia & Subramaniam Pennathur

  2. Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, 1301 Catherine Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Thekkelnaycke Rajendiran

  3. Michigan Regional Comprehensive Metabolomics Resource Core, University of Michigan, 6300 Brehm Tower, 1000 Wall Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105, USA

    Thekkelnaycke Rajendiran & Subramaniam Pennathur

  4. Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, 1137 E. Catherine Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Subramaniam Pennathur

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  1. Stefanie Wernisch
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  2. Farsad Afshinnia
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  3. Thekkelnaycke Rajendiran
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  4. Subramaniam Pennathur
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Subramaniam Pennathur.

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This work used only commercially available chemicals and did not involve samples or procedures requiring approval by an institutional review board or informed consent.

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The authors declare that they have no financial and no nonfinancial conflicts of interest.

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Wernisch, S., Afshinnia, F., Rajendiran, T. et al. Probing the application range and selectivity of a differential mobility spectrometry–mass spectrometry platform for metabolomics. Anal Bioanal Chem 410, 2865–2877 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-0978-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-0978-x

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