Talk:Metabolomics

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Hi -- I have taken the liberty to put down some of my thoughts on metabolomics. Any suggestions as to what else would be useful -- what about links to some metabolomics sites? Or what about citations to some of the more significant (peer-reviewed) scientific papers? thanks --jake b 10:10, 16 Oct 2004 (UTC)

The additions that you've made look really good. The only other things I think could be added are about matching experimental data to compund libraries, and the statistic and bioinformatic analysis of results. Oliver Fiehn's group at the Max-Planck-Institut has a good list of publications, I can't tell if they're they're fee for public access since I'm on a university network [1].--nixie 21:32, 16 Oct 2004 (UTC)

"Matching experimental data to compound libraries" -- fully agree with you, but it's a big job! Also think your suggestion about data analysis is a good one, I might add some bits in a day or two and let some more experienced biostatisticians correct where necessary. Do you feel like adding some external links, starting with the MPI one (or even just that for now)?? many thanks ... --jake b 21:46, 17 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I can quiz a girl in my lab, she's just started her PhD on a metabolomics project, the details are mind boggling- but a basic outline of an experiment would be good.--nixie 01:44, 18 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I've made a few changes: deleted one reference (seemed gratuitous, and more 'journalistic' than authoritative). Main thing I tried to do was rewrite the 'analytical technologies' section as it had got a bit confused, with reference to HPLC twice. comments? jake b 18:51, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I'm not an expert in NMR, but I'm pretty sure some of the statements made on this page are incorrect. For example, it says "All kinds of small molecule metabolite can be measured simultaneously", but that's not true of any NMR techniques I know. For NMR you typically need to isolate your compound of interest in a very pure form for analysis. If significant impurities are present, you won't be able to properly characterize the analyte. This, along with lack of sensitivity, is among the major drawbacks of all NMR techniques. HPLC combined with mass spectrometry is popular in part because it eliminates the need to isolate pure compounds, as the separation is done on-line. Some scientists use HPLC combined with NMR, but this is a much more difficult set-up and I don't know if it's pratical for metabolomics. 146.6.144.113 19:29, 15 November 2005 (UTC)BDD

There are now (many many) publications using 1H NMR as a profiling tool -- typically, you obtain a spectrum of a complex mixture, and then use some kind of multivariate data analysis to detect which spectral regions vary (according to e.g. experimental treatment). You can then (try to) relate these back to specific metabolites. HPLC-NMR isn't really close to being a standard technique for metabolomics; main problems are that (a) sensitivity is an even bigger problem, and (b) RPHPLC is poor for highly polar metabolites, i.e. most of them. jake b 10:08, 19 December 2005 (UTC)