Metabolomics

The Metabolomics Core Facility performs quantitative or semi-quantitative assays of groups of targeted metabolites. 

It also offers self-service instrument access.  

Our services are available for researchers in the university, hospital and industrial sectors.  

Metabolite Assays 

• Short-Chain Fatty Acids (10 metabolites) 
  
  Analytes: acetic, propionic, butyric, isobutyric, valeric, isovaleric, caproic, lactic and succinic acids, and 3-hydroxypropanal. 
  
  Material: feces (≥10 mg); plasma (100 µL) 
  
  Quantification: quantitative¹ analysis 
• Bile Acids (13 metabolites) 
  
  Analytes: cholic (CA), deoxycholic (DCA), chenodeoxycholic (CDCA), ursodeoxycholic (UDCA), glycodeoxycholic (GDCA) glycoursodeoxycholic (GUDCA), taurocholic (TCA), taurodeoxycholic (TDCA), taurochenodeoxycholic (TCDCA), lithocholic (LCA) and α-, β- and ω-muricholic (αMCA, β-MCA and ω-MCA) acids 
  
  Material: feces (≥10 mg); plasma (100 µL) 
  
  Quantification: quantitative¹ analysis 
• Central Carbon Metabolism (35 metabolites) 
  
  Analytes: AMP, ADP, ATP, adenosine, GMP, GDP, GTP, NAD, NADH, NADP, NADPH, cAMP, cGMP, acetyl-CoA, malonyl-CoA, acetoacetyl-CoA, HMG-CoA, citrate/isocitrate (not discriminated), malate, succinate, alpha-ketoglutarate, fumarate, oxaloacetate, lactate, pyruvate, acetoacetate, leucine, glutamine, glutamate, aspartate, arginine, oxidized glutathione, reduced glutathione, DHAP, glycerol-3-phosphate 

Material: tissue (≥10 mg); cultured cells (106) 

Quantification: relative² analysis 

• Amino Acids (23 metabolites) 
  
  Analytes: alanine, arginine, asparagine, carnitine, citrulline, cystine, glycine, glutamate, glutamine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, ornithine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, taurine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine 
  
  Material: plasma (10 µL); tissue (≥10 mg); cultured cells (106) 
  
  Quantification: relative² or semi-quantitative1 analysis 
• Neurotransmitters (10 metabolites) 
  
  Analytes: acetylcholine, adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine, GABA, glutamate, glycine, tryptophan, 5-hydroxytryptophan, serotonin 
  
  Material: plasma (20 µL); tissue (≥10 mg) 
  
  Quantification: relative² analysis 
• Biocrates MxP® Quant 500 Kit (630 metabolites) 
  
  Analytes: see https://biocrates.com 
  
  Material: plasma (10 µL) 
• Development of Customized Methods 
  
  Examples of methods that have been developed: sphingosine-1-phosphate in islets of Langerhans; kainic acid in zebrafish embryos; dNTPs in sorted T-cells (FACS) 

Material: plasma; tissue; cultured cells; feces; culture medium 

Instrument Use 

Self-service use of an HPLC system equipped with an absorbance detector (UV/Vis), a fluorescence detector and a fraction collector. 

Supervised use of specialized sample preparation equipment.   

¹ Results expressed as absolute quantities (e.g. nmol/mg of material) calculated using a calibration curve. The analysis is semi-quantitative when a single or a few internal standards are used. The analysis is quantitative when an internal standard is added for most or all of the analytes of interest.  

² Results expressed relative to a control condition or as a percentage of the maximum measured.