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Metallomics pp 111–137Cite as

The Use of Stable Isotopic Tracers in Metallomics Studies

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((PMISB,volume 1055))

Abstract

Mass spectrometry represents an essential technique in Metallomics studies. It permits the identification of metal-containing molecules as part of the metallome as well as their quantification at low concentration levels. The technique becomes even more powerful in combination with the use of isotopically enriched species. Provided that they are stable, these isotopically labelled species can be easily distinguished from their natural counterparts by mass spectrometric techniques. This capability permits that these species are used for accurate and precise quantitative experiments and/or metabolic studies applying inductively coupled plasma as ionization source. In this chapter, we present the different concepts of using stable isotope tracers and isotope dilution analysis as quantification strategy. Besides some fundamental aspects, various examples from Metallomics studies, for instance, on the preparation of isotopically enriched metalloproteins and determination by isotope dilution analysis or the exploration of the biological pathways of Se species, are shown in order to demonstrate the usefulness of isotopes.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In a few cases, a long-lived radioactive isotope can be also used for IDA, e.g., 129I or 60Co.

  2. 2.

    Although sulfur is shown in this example, the principle is the same for any other metal suitable for species-unspecific IDA.

  3. 3.

    In this specific case, the isotope ratio of 34S and 32S was used.

Abbreviations

AQUA:

Absolute quantification

CRM:

Certified reference material

DNA:

Deoxyribonucleic acid

DOM:

Dissolved organic matter

ESI:

Electrospray ionization

FAZ:

Fractional absorption of zinc

GC-MS:

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

ICP:

Inductively coupled plasma

ICP-MS:

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

IDA:

Isotope dilution analysis

IPD:

Isotope pattern deconvolution

LA-ICP-MS:

Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

LC-MS:

Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

LC-MS/MS:

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

MALDI:

Matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization

MC-ICP-MS:

Multicollector-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

MELD:

Model for end-stage liver disease

MeSeCys:

Se-methyl selenocysteine

MS:

Mass spectrometry

NTI-MS:

Negative thermal ionization-mass spectrometry

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

RSD:

Relative standard deviation

SeCys:

Selenocysteine

SeMet:

Selenomethionine

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

TIMS:

Thermal ionization mass spectrometry

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Correspondence to Maria Montes-Bayón .

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Montes-Bayón, M., Bettmer, J. (2018). The Use of Stable Isotopic Tracers in Metallomics Studies. In: Arruda, M. (eds) Metallomics. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology(), vol 1055. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90143-5_6

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