Metabolomics is an emerging area of research focused on measuring small molecules in biological samples. There are a number of different types of metabolomics, ranging from global profiling of all metabolites in a single sample to measurement of a selected group of analytes. Microfluidics and related technologies have been used in this research area with good success. The aim of this review article is to summarize the use of microfluidics in metabolomics. Direct application of microfluidics to the determination of small molecules is covered first. Next, important sample preparation methods developed for microfluidics and applicable to metabolomics are covered. Finally, a summary of metabolomic work as it relates to analysis of cellular events using microfluidics is covered.
KeywordsMicrofluidics; metabolomics; metabolic profiling; review
I INTRODUCTIONThe goal of this review is to summarize the use of microfluidics as a novel tool set for metabolomics, metabolic profiling, and other metabolite related biological studies. To the knowledge of the authors this is the first such review generated, and thus we will include articles dating back as far as 2000 to give the reader a comprehensive view of the state of the art. While this is the first review of this topic, a number of important reviews on topics ranging from microfluidic and general analytical methods applicable to metabolomics [1][2][3][4][5][6] to metabolomic and metabolic profiling [7][8][9][10][11][12] have been published previously. For specific topics, it is suggested the reader consult these works. These reviews are by no means a comprehensive list of all reviews in this field given that several dozen review articles have been published over the last nine years ranging in scope from very specific to more general.Before discussing specific applications of microfluidics to metabolomics we will first define metabolomics and the various subsets of this discipline. While many people are familiar with genomics and proteomics, the terminology associated with metabolomics is not as clearly defined. For the sake of this review, we define metabolomics as five separate categories: 1) metabolomics, 2) metabonomics, 3) metabolic fingerprinting, 4) metabolic profiling, and 5) targeted metabolic profiling [13]. Metabolomics is the overall study of metabolite expression Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
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Author ManuscriptAnal Chim Acta. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 October 19.
Published in final edited form as:Anal Chim Acta.
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