Automated Blood Analysis

A recent publication highlights a collaborative effort between researchers at RECETOX, PAL System, and Thermo Fisher Scientific to improve the efficiency and throughput of GC/MS-based metabolomics.

The research, spearheaded by Akrem Jbebli and Elliott J. Price at RECETOX, focuses on automating the critical derivatization step required for analyzing polar metabolites and the subsequent injection into the GC/MS system. This new protocol utilizes a Thermo Scientific™ TriPlus™ RSH autosampler (or comparable system) to perform sequential methoximation and silylation reactions.

By automating these reactions, the researchers achieved significant improvements in several key areas:

Increased Throughput: The automated workflow enables the analysis of approximately 40 samples within a 24-hour period, significantly streamlining the analytical process.

Enhanced Reproducibility: Automation minimizes manual handling errors and ensures consistent reaction conditions, leading to improved reproducibility across a variety of blood matrices, including dried blood spots, serum, and plasma.

Broad Metabolite Coverage: Combined with high-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry, the protocol facilitated the identification of over 70 metabolites in each blood matrix.

This automated sequential derivatization protocol offers a valuable tool for researchers seeking to enhance the efficiency and reliability of their GC/MS metabolomics workflows.

The approach holds promise for applications in various fields, including:

Large-scale metabolomics studies: Enabling faster and more robust analysis of large sample cohorts.
Clinical diagnostics: Improving the accuracy and speed of metabolite-based disease diagnostics.
Drug discovery and development: Facilitating the identification of drug targets and the study of drug metabolism.

Hagen Gegner

Scientific Communications Specialist

Visit Bio

A close up of two blood samples next to the overview of identified metabolites per sample type.

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Abstract

Dried blood spots (DBS) offer a minimally invasive and efficient alternative to traditional blood collection methods for metabolomic profiling. This application note presents a fully automated, in-vial, two-step derivatization method (methoximation followed by trimethylsilylation) for gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis of DBS, serum, and plasma sample. The workflow enables rapid analysis with a 31-minute sample-to-sample runtime. Untargeted analysis generates over 600 features per sample and over 70 analytes are identified to the RECETOX Metabolome HR-[EI+]-MS library. Routinely measured metaboites show quantitative reproducibility (CV < 30%). Untargeted analysis using MS-DIAL measured over 600 features per sample, with more than 70 metabolites confidently identified against an in-house library. This automated, high-throughput workflow significantly streamlines metabolomic analysis of various blood sample types, facilitating faster turnaround times and broader applications in research and clinical settings.

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