Mass spectrometry‐based metabolomics towards understanding of gene functions with a diversity of biological contexts

Currently, mass spectrometry‐based metabolomics studies extend beyond conventional chemical categorization and metabolic phenotype analysis to understanding gene function in various biological contexts (e.g., mammalian, plant, and microbial). These novel utilities have led to many innovative discoveries in the following areas: disease pathogenesis, therapeutic pathway or target identification, the biochemistry of animal and plant physiological and pathological activities in response to diverse stimuli, and molecular signatures of host–pathogen interactions during microbial infection. In this review, we critically evaluate the representative applications of mass spectrometry‐based metabolomics to better understand gene function in diverse biological contexts, with special emphasis on working principles, study protocols, and possible future development of this technique. Collectively, this review raises awareness within the biomedical community of the scientific value and applicability of mass spectrometry‐based metabolomics strategies to better understand gene function, thus advancing this application's utility in a broad range of biological fields. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Mass Spec Rev 32:118–128, 2013     

Phospholipids as cancer biomarkers: Mass spectrometry‐based analysis

Lipids, particularly phospholipids (PLs), are key components of cellular membrane. PLs play important and diverse roles in cells such as chemical‐energy storage, cellular signaling, cell membranes, and cell–cell interactions in tissues. All these cellular processes are pertinent to cells that undergo transformation, cancer progression, and metastasis. Thus, there is a strong possibility that some classes of PLs are expected to present in cancer cells and tissues in cellular physiology. The mass spectrometric soft‐ionization techniques, electrospray ionization (ESI), and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) are well‐established in the proteomics field, have been used for lipidomic analysis in cancer research. This review focused on the applications of mass spectrometry (MS) mainly on ESI‐MS and MALDI‐MS in the structural characterization, molecular composition and key roles of various PLs present in cancer cells, tissues, blood, and urine, and on their importance for cancer‐related problems as well as challenges for development of novel PL‐based biomarkers. The profiling of PLs helps to rationalize their functions in biological systems, and will also provide diagnostic information to elucidate mechanisms behind the control of cancer, diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases. The investigation of cellular PLs with MS methods suggests new insights on various cancer diseases and clinical applications in the drug discovery and development of biomarkers for various PL‐related different cancer diseases. PL profiling in tissues, cells and body fluids also reflect the general condition of the whole organism and can indicate the existence of cancer and other diseases. PL profiling with MS opens new prospects to assess alterations of PLs in cancer, screening specific biomarkers and provide a basis for the development of novel therapeutic strategies. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 37:107‐138, 2018     

The role of mass spectrometry‐based metabolomics in medical countermeasures against radiation

Radiation metabolomics can be defined as the global profiling of biological fluids to uncover latent, endogenous small molecules whose concentrations change in a dose–response manner following exposure to ionizing radiation. In response to the potential threat of nuclear or radiological terrorism, the Center for High‐Throughput Minimally Invasive Radiation Biodosimetry was established to develop field‐deployable biodosimeters based, in part, on rapid analysis by mass spectrometry of readily and easily obtainable biofluids. In this review, we briefly summarize radiation biology and key events related to actual and potential nuclear disasters, discuss the important contributions the field of mass spectrometry has made to the field of radiation metabolomics, and summarize current discovery efforts to use mass spectrometry‐based metabolomics to identify dose‐responsive urinary constituents, and ultimately to build and deploy a noninvasive high‐throughput biodosimeter. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev 29:503‐521, 2010     

Chip‐mass spectrometry for glycomic studies

The introduction of micro‐ and nanochip front end technologies for electrospray mass spectrometry addressed a major challenge in carbohydrate analysis: high sensitivity structural determination and heterogeneity assessment in high dynamic range mixtures of biological origin. Chip‐enhanced electrospray ionization was demonstrated to provide reproducible performance irrespective of the type of carbohydrate, while the amenability of chip systems for coupling with different mass spectrometers greatly advance the chip/MS technique as a versatile key tool in glycomic studies. A more accurate representation of the glycan repertoire to include novel biologically‐relevant information was achieved in different biological sources, asserting this technique as a valuable tool in glycan biomarker discovery and monitoring. Additionally, the integration of various analytical functions onto chip devices and direct hyphenation to MS proved its potential for glycan analysis during the recent years, whereby a new analytical tool is on the verge of maturation: lab‐on‐chip MS glycomics. The achievements until early beginning of 2007 on the implementation of chip‐ and functional integrated chip/MS in systems glycobiology studies are reviewed here. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Mass Spec Rev 28:223–253, 2009     

Surface analytical studies of surface-additive interactions, by means of in situ and combinatorial approaches

The influence of tribological conditions on the surface reactions occurring between zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZnDTP) and steel surfaces has been studied by means of a combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS), in situ attenuated total reflection (ATR) infrared spectroscopy, and high-throughput combinatorial approaches. Purely thermal treatment at 150 °C appears to lead to the formation of zinc polyphosphates. However, in the presence of tribological stress, simple phosphates appear to dominate, with some indication that higher load conditions lead to an increase in the surface concentration of both phosphate and, at higher temperatures, polyphosphate.