Sub-nanoliter metabolomics via mass spectrometry to characterize volume-limited samples

Yafeng Li, Marcos Bouza, Changsheng Wu, Hengyu Guo, Danning Huang, Gilad Doron, Johnna S. Temenoff, Arlene A. Stecenko, Zhong Lin Wang and Facundo M. Fernández ()
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Yafeng Li: Georgia Institute of Technology
Marcos Bouza: Georgia Institute of Technology
Changsheng Wu: Georgia Institute of Technology
Hengyu Guo: Georgia Institute of Technology
Danning Huang: Georgia Institute of Technology
Gilad Doron: Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University
Johnna S. Temenoff: Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University
Arlene A. Stecenko: Emory University School of Medicine and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Zhong Lin Wang: Georgia Institute of Technology
Facundo M. Fernández: Georgia Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Abstract The human metabolome provides a window into the mechanisms and biomarkers of various diseases. However, because of limited availability, many sample types are still difficult to study by metabolomic analyses. Here, we present a mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics strategy that only consumes sub-nanoliter sample volumes. The approach consists of combining a customized metabolomics workflow with a pulsed MS ion generation method, known as triboelectric nanogenerator inductive nanoelectrospray ionization (TENGi nanoESI) MS. Samples tested with this approach include exhaled breath condensate collected from cystic fibrosis patients as well as in vitro-cultured human mesenchymal stromal cells. Both test samples are only available in minimum amounts. Experiments show that picoliter-volume spray pulses suffice to generate high-quality spectral fingerprints, which increase the information density produced per unit sample volume. This TENGi nanoESI strategy has the potential to fill in the gap in metabolomics where liquid chromatography-MS-based analyses cannot be applied. Our method opens up avenues for future investigations into understanding metabolic changes caused by diseases or external stimuli.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19444-y

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