Standardized, high-throughput targeted metabolomics

What are known as the four omics — genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics — are in a state of constant multidimensional flow in biological systems. Significant deviations in metabolite levels can indicate changes in the other three omics, whether they are benign or malignant in nature or an adaptation to external factors. Every organism contains an enormous number of metabolites that cannot be measured using a single analytical method. In 2016, a kit-based LC-MS/MS workflow (Biocrates®) was introduced at Fraunhofer ITEM, which allows the quantification of 1,019 metabolites in one sample. When used in combination with other targeted methods (e.g. NMR IVDr by Bruker BioSpin), metabolomics has become an integral, standardized high-throughput tool that generates comprehensive data sets for numerous metabolic pathways. Bioinformaticians at Fraunhofer ITEM are developing customized methods for data analysis to aid data interpretation.

Scientists at Fraunhofer ITEM have brought their targeted metabolomics approaches to numerous projects in the areas of clinical and veterinary medical research, both within Germany and internationally. One use case for their approaches included targeted metabolic profiling to identify severe clinical cases of COVID-19 in a study led by the German Heart Centre Munich and the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research. They also recently made a further scientific contribution in this field as part of the NuEva study led by Friedrich Schiller University Jena.