Sub-nanoliter metabolomics via mass spectrometry to characterize volume-limited samples

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Yafeng Li, Georgia Institute of Technology; Marcos Bouza, Georgia Institute of Technology; Changsheng Wu, Georgia Institute of Technology; Hengyu Guo, Georgia Institute of Technology; Danning Huang, Georgia Institute of Technology; Gilad Doron, Georgia Institute of Technology; Johnna Temenoff, Emory University; Arlene Stecenko, Emory University; Zhong Lin Wang, Georgia Institute of Technology; Facundo M. Fernandez, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-11-06
• Publisher: NATURE RESEARCH
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2020
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19444-y
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 5625
• End Page: 5625
• Grant/Funding Information: F.M.F. acknowledges support from 1R01CA218664-01 and NIH 1U2CES030167-01. F.M.F. and J.S.T. acknowledge support from the CMaT NSF Research Center (EEC-1648035). A.A.S. acknowledges support from FDA R01FD003527-01.
• Keywords: MESENCHYMAL STROMAL CELLS; OXIDATIVE STRESS; STEM-CELLS; Science & Technology; GLUCOSE; Multidisciplinary Sciences; EXHALED BREATH CONDENSATE; TAURINE PROTECTS; CLINICAL-TRIALS; DEATH; Science & Technology - Other Topics; IFN-GAMMA; IONIZATION
• Research Categories: Biology, Cell

Abstract

The human metabolome provides a window into the mechanisms and biomarkers of various diseases. However, because of limited availability, many sample types are still difficult to study by metabolomic analyses. Here, we present a mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics strategy that only consumes sub-nanoliter sample volumes. The approach consists of combining a customized metabolomics workflow with a pulsed MS ion generation method, known as triboelectric nanogenerator inductive nanoelectrospray ionization (TENGi nanoESI) MS. Samples tested with this approach include exhaled breath condensate collected from cystic fibrosis patients as well as in vitro-cultured human mesenchymal stromal cells. Both test samples are only available in minimum amounts. Experiments show that picoliter-volume spray pulses suffice to generate high-quality spectral fingerprints, which increase the information density produced per unit sample volume. This TENGi nanoESI strategy has the potential to fill in the gap in metabolomics where liquid chromatography-MS-based analyses cannot be applied. Our method opens up avenues for future investigations into understanding metabolic changes caused by diseases or external stimuli.