P115A-T High Speed Nanoscale UPLC Separations Combined with Off-Line MALDI MS/MS for Peptide Analysis.

Metabolomic data come in many forms depending on what was collected. In a study looking for biomarkers of exposure to H2S, whole blood was collected from participants and subsequently analyzed by GC/ITMS. The data from chromatograms were sorted using principal component analysis. A key portion of the chromatograph was used to demonstrate differences between no exposure, a low and high exposure. True difference mass spectra were used to differentiate urine samples from mice before and after they ocnsumed green tea. MS data from control subjects looking at MTBE exposure sensitivity, showed a time course difference from a single subject, following exposure. All of this data came from mass spectral data points but the pattern may not be appropriate for storage in a database that should be searchable. The patterns created are the most effective way to verify biological differences in conditions and identify potential biomarkers, but is not useful for comparing results from one study to another. Data in the raw phase (mass spectral data) cannot be compared to other raw data (NMR) and cannot be linked directly to metabolic pathways. Figure 1