Summary
The term metabolome was coined in 1998, by analogy to genome, transcriptome and proteome. The first research papers using the terms metabolomics, metabonomics, metabolic profiling or ...metabolite profiling were published shortly thereafter. In this short review we reflect on the major achievements brought about by the use of these approaches, and document the knowledge and technology gaps that are currently constraining its further development. Finally, we detail why we think that the time is ripe to refocus our efforts on the understanding of metabolic function.
Significance Statement
In this short review we focus on the major achievements in metabolomics and document knowledge and technology gaps which are currently constraining its further development. In addition, we detail why we think that the time is ripe to refocus our efforts on the understanding of metabolic function.
•Metabolomics studies all cell metabolites, providing insights into cancer development.•Unique metabolic signatures in breast cancer include changes in lipid, amino acid, and energy metabolism.•These ...alterations support cancer growth, affect the tumour microenvironment, and impact therapy response.•Metabolomics can identify biomarkers for early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of breast cancer.•Personalized breast cancer treatment may benefit from metabolomics, tailoring strategies to individual metabolic profiles.
Breast cancer (BC) remains the most prevalent cancer among women worldwide, despite significant advancements in its prevention and treatment. The escalating incidence of BC globally necessitates continued research into novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Metabolomics, a burgeoning field, offers a comprehensive analysis of all metabolites within a cell, tissue, system, or organism, providing crucial insights into the dynamic changes occurring during cancer development and progression. This review focuses on the metabolic alterations associated with BC, highlighting the potential of metabolomics in identifying biomarkers for early detection, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Metabolomics studies have revealed distinct metabolic signatures in BC, including alterations in lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and energy metabolism. These metabolic changes not only support the rapid proliferation of cancer cells but also influence the tumour microenvironment and therapeutic response.
Furthermore, metabolomics holds great promise in personalized medicine, facilitating the development of tailored treatment strategies based on an individual’s metabolic profile. By providing a holistic view of the metabolic changes in BC, metabolomics has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the disease and improve patient outcomes.
•Industrial hemp inflorescences generally considered waste parts for fiber industry.•Recovery of inflorescences’ volatiles by Sc-CO2 extraction and on-line fractionation.•At 10MPa and 313K, cuticolar ...waxes in Sep 1: 7MPa/298K.•At 10MPa and 313K, inflorescences’ volatiles (100%) in Sep2: 5MPa/288K.•Volatile extract profile by HS-SPME/GC–MS overlapping with original inflorescences.
The use of supercritical carbon dioxide (Sc-CO2) extraction at 10 and 14MPa and 40°C and on-line fractionation using two separators (Sep 1: 7MPa/25°C; Sep2: 5MPa/15°C) to recovery volatile compounds from the inflorescences of fiber type Cannabis sativa L. was investigated by HS-SPME/GC–MS and direct GC–MS and compared with hydrodistillation. The best results were obtained by Sc-CO2 extraction carried out at 10MPa and 40°C. Under these operating conditions, cuticular waxes covering the surface of flowers were collected in the first separator and volatile compounds (100%) in the second. The superior quality of this last extract was proved by the perfect overlapping of its HS-SPME/GC–MS volatile profile to that of inflorescences. The recovery of fractions with different composition and biological properties, made the inflorescences of fiber type Cannabis sativa L suitable for cosmetic and/or food industry.
Analysis of pneumococcal polysaccharides (PnPs) has been an arduous task, especially in similar serotypes. Pneumococci invades the host immune response by modulating capsule structure with small ...genetic changes making them indistinguishable from similar serotypes by conventional modes of analysis. The new serotype 24F causing invasive pneumococcal-resistant infection is an analytical challenge for its analysis as related serotypes 24A and 24B Ps share a common backbone. The difference in the branched chain which contains arabinitol and ribitol in 24F and 24B respectively are stereoisomers making their identification even more challenging. The composition analysis by GC-MS revealed distinct peaks for arabinitol in 24F and 24A Ps and ribitol in Pn 24B serotype polysaccharide. The mass spectral analysis confirmed their identification along with a heterologous cross-reactivity which confirmed anti-Pn-24F mAb reactive to Pn 24B than Pn 24A. The quantitative analysis of pneumococcal 24A, 24B and 24F using GC-MS showed sensitive analysis over the concentration range 3.125–200 μg/mL with regression coefficient >0.99 making ideal modality for the characterization, identification, and quantitation of pneumococcal 24A, 24B and 24F similar serotypes.
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•GC-MS separates the stereoisomeric sugars present in pneumococcal 24 serotypes.•GC-MS provides the unique total ion chromatogram to distinguish pneumococcal 24A, 24B and 24F serotype.•Mass spectral analysis of Pn 24 serotype provides unique identification of arabinitol and ribitol stereoisomers.•Heterologous cross-reactivity of pneumococcal 24F mAb was observed with 24B polysaccharide by bead-based assay.
Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) with Cold EI is based on interfacing GC and MS with supersonic molecular beams (SMBs) along with electron ionization of vibrationally cold sample ...compounds in SMB in a fly‐through ion source (hence the name Cold EI). Cold EI improves all the central performance aspects of GC–MS, and in this paper, we focus on its improvement of signal‐to‐noise ratio (S/N) and limits of detection (LODs). We found that the harder the compound for analysis with standard EI, the greater the Cold EI gain in S/N and LOD. The lower LOD and higher S/N of Cold EI emerge from a few reasons: (a) similar ionization yield as standard EI, (b) enhanced abundance of molecular ions, (c) elimination of vacuum background noise, (d) elimination of ion source‐related peak tailing and degradation, (e) ability to lower the elution temperatures via the use of high column flow rates, and (f) greater range of thermally labile and low‐volatility compounds that can be analyzed. We demonstrate the superior S/N and lower LOD of Cold EI versus standard EI in a range of compounds, from the simple‐to‐analyze octafluoronaphthalene all the way to reserpine and an organo‐metallic compound that cannot be analyzed by standard EI. These compounds include methyl stearate, cholesterol, n‐C32H66, large polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dioctyl phthalates, diundecyl phthalate, pentachlorophenol, benzidine, lambda‐cyhalothrin, and methidathion. The significantly lower Cold EI LODs that can be over 1000 times better than in standard EI further result in far superior response linearity and greater measurement dynamic range.
•This review focuses on terpenoids extracted from essential oils.•Terpenoids have enantiomers with distinct physiological activities.•Predominant extraction methods are HD, SFME, HS-SPME and ...supercritical fluid.•2D GC is found to have stronger chiral chromatography resolution ability.•Specific distribution and enantiomer excess results could be used as quality markers.
Terpenoids possess significant physiological activities and are rich in essential oils. Some terpenoids have chiral centers and could form enantiomers with distinct physiological activities. Therefore, the extraction and separation of terpenoids enantiomers are very important and have attracted extensive attention in recent years. Meanwhile, the specific distribution and enantiomer excess results (the excess of one enantiomer over the other in a mixture of enantiomers) could be used as quality markers for illegitimate adulteration, origin identification, and exploring component variations and functional interrelations across different plant tissues. In this study, an overview of the progress in the extraction of terpenoids from essential oils and the separation of their enantiomers over the past two decades has been made. Extraction methods were retrieved by the resultant network visualization findings. The results showed that the predominant methods are hydrodistillation, solvent-free microwave extraction, headspace solid-phase microextraction and supercritical fluid extraction methods. GC–MS combined with chiral chromatography columns is commonly used for the separation of enantiomers, while 2D GC is found to have stronger resolution ability. Finally, some prospects for future research directions in the extraction and separation identification of essential oils are proposed.
•Determination of psychoactive substances in sweat samples.•Extraction of psychoactive substances using disposable pipette extraction and GC–MS.•Analysis of psychoactive substances in sweat samples ...collected from drug users.
Widespread consumption of drugs of abuse worldwide has caused concern: it adversely affects public health, individual safety, and social structures. Experts are particularly alarmed because new psychoactive substances have been increasingly detected in biological samples. In recent years, several studies have focused on developing methods to identify psychoactive substances in alternative biological matrices, such as sweat. This approach holds promise for monitoring substance use, especially in individuals undergoing rehabilitation. Among the commonly employed analytical procedures, extraction using disposable DPX tips stands out as a novel, miniaturized, and promising technique. This study aimed to validate and to apply a method to analyze various substances, including amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, MDA, MDEA, cocaine, cocaethylene, anhydroecgonine methyl ester, dibutylone, N-ethylpentylone, 25E-NBOMe, 25CNBOMe, 2CC, 2C-E, fentanyl, and carfentanil, in sweat samples simultaneously. In this method, sweat is collected by using laboratory-developed patches, and extraction is conducted with DPX-SCX tips. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry is employed to separate, to identify, and to quantify the analytes. Validation results indicated that the quantification limit ranged from 2 to 30 ng of analyte/patch, and that the method was linear for analyte concentrations ranging from 2 to 1100 ng/patch. The validated method was applied to analyze 30 sweat samples collected from volunteers drug users and processed by using both the selected ion mode (SIM) and full scan. The method was able to detect and to quantify substances such as cocaine, cocaethylene, anhydroecgonine methyl ester, MDMA, MDA, nicotine, cotinine, caffeine, procaine, lidocaine, and ethylamphetamine simultaneously. The recovery rates ranged from 72.4 % to 97.1 %. The analytes were stable in the biological matrix. In conclusion, the validated method proved effective and allowed the target analytes to be quantified in sweat samples, highlighting that sweat is a viable matrix for analyzing drugs of abuse.
In this work, a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) method combined with two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC × GC-MS) was optimized and used to assess the authenticity ...of pomegranate juice to prevent fraudulent practices. A divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fiber was used for the extraction of the volatiles. The critical parameters that affect the extraction process, such as the sample volume, and the extraction time were studied. The optimized protocol involved the addition of 15 mL of juice in 50 mL vial and saturation with 30% w/v NaCl.The extraction was carried out within 45 min under 1000 rpm stirring and was applied in the analysis of real juice samples to assess authenticity and detect low levels of pomegranate juice adulteration with grape and apple juice down to 1%. Commercially available pomegranate juice samples were acquired (n1 = 6) and adulterated with 1% of apple juice (n2 = 6), 1% of grape juice (n3 = 6), and a mixture of 1% apple juice and 1% grape juice (n4 = 6). Authentic pomegranate juice samples and adulterated mixtures were analyzed by SPME-GC × GC-MS. The analysis resulted in the identification of 123 volatile compounds that were further processed with chemometric tools. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to visualize the clustering of the samples, and a two-way orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (O2PLS-DA) chemometric model was developed and successfully classified the samples to authentic pomegranate juice or adulterated with an explained total variance of 87.4%. The O2PLS-DA prediction model revealed characteristic volatile markers that could be used to detect pomegranate juice fraud.
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•Optimized SPME method combined with GC × GC-MS to address food fraud.•2D-GC volatilomics for the exploration of the fingerprint of juices.•Chemometrics successfully discriminated between pure pomegranate juices and adulterated.•Identification of characteristic volatile markers.
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