13C NMR has many advantages for a metabolomics study, including a large spectral dispersion, narrow singlets at natural abundance, and a direct measure of the backbone structures of metabolites. However, it has not had widespread use because of its relatively low sensitivity compounded by low natural abundance. Here we demonstrate the utility of high-quality 13C NMR spectra obtained using a custom 13C-optimized probe on metabolomic mixtures. A workflow was developed to use statistical correlations between replicate 1D 13C and 1H spectra, leading to composite spin systems that can be used to search publicly available databases for compound identification. This was developed using synthetic mixtures and then applied to two biological samples, Drosophila melanogaster extracts and mouse serum. Using the synthetic mixtures we were able to obtain useful 13C–13C statistical correlations from metabolites with as little as 60 nmol of material. The lower limit of 13C NMR detection under our experimental conditions is approximately 40 nmol, slightly lower than the requirement for statistical analysis. The 13C and 1H data together led to 15 matches in the database compared to just 7 using 1H alone, and the 13C correlated peak lists had far fewer false positives than the 1H generated lists. In addition, the 13C 1D data provided improved metabolite identification and separation of biologically distinct groups using multivariate statistical analysis in the D. melanogaster extracts and mouse serum.

We demonstrate the global metabolic analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans stress responses using a mass spectrometry-based technique called Isotopic Ratio Outlier Analysis (IROA). In an IROA protocol, control and experimental samples are isotopically labeled with 95% and 5% 13C, and the two sample populations are mixed together for uniform extraction, sample preparation, and LC-MS analysis. This labeling strategy provides several advantages over conventional approaches: 1) compounds arising from biosynthesis are easily distinguished from artifacts, 2) errors from sample extraction and preparation are minimized because the control and experiment are combined into a single sample, 3) measurement of both the molecular weight and the exact number of carbon atoms in each molecule provides extremely accurate molecular formulae, and 4) relative concentrations of all metabolites are easily determined. A heat shock perturbation was conducted on C. elegans to demonstrate this approach. We identified many compounds that significantly changed upon heat shock, including several from the purine metabolism pathway, which we use to demonstrate the approach. The metabolomic response information by IROA may be interpreted in the context of a wealth of genetic and proteomic information available for C. elegans. Furthermore, the IROA protocol can be applied to any organism that can be isotopically labeled, making it a powerful new tool in a global metabolomics pipeline.

Since the introduction of desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) mass spectrometry (MS), ambient MS methods have seen increased use in a variety of fields from health to food science. Increasing its popularity in metabolomics, ambient MS offers limited sample preparation, rapid and direct analysis of liquids, solids, and gases, in situ and in vivo analysis, and imaging. The metabolome consists of a constantly changing collection of small (<1.5KDa) molecules. These include endogenous molecules that are part of primary metabolism pathways, secondary metabolites with specific functions such as signaling, chemicals incorporated in the diet or resulting from environmental exposures, and metabolites associated with the microbiome. Characterization of the responsive changes of this molecule cohort is the principle goal in any metabolomics study. With adjustments to experimental parameters, metabolites across a range of chemical and physical properties can be selectively desorbed and ionized and subsequently analyzed with increased speed and sensitivity. This review covers the broad applications of a variety of ambient MS techniques in four primary fields in which metabolomics is commonly employed.