The Bacterial Metabolomics Facility specializes in high-throughput analysis of (bacterial) extracts. We provide two different routine methods:
- High-throughput analysis of primary metabolites is performed by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) on an Agilent TQ 6495. This method enables fast (2-minute) and quantitative analysis of primary metabolites, including amino acids, nucleotides, cofactors, sugars and organic acids. To enable quantitative measurements, each sample is spiked with a 13C labeled internal standard. This isotope ratio approach corrects for matrix effects and drifts resulting in precise relative concentrations but also improves the identification of metabolites. With this method, approximately 150 metabolites can be captured at concentrations ranging from 1 nM to 10 µM (Guder et al. 2017, doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.6b03731). We are currently working on extending the number of metabolites that can be measured using the isotope ratio approach with more exotic metabolites (Rapp et al. 2024, manuscript in preparation).
- Additionally, we can perform high-throughput metabolome profiling by direct injection of samples into a high-resolution TOF-MS (Agilent QTOF 6546). As the analysis is very fast (0.5 min), we can screen a huge number of samples (Farke et al. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.ab.2023.115036). Metabolites are annotated due to their m/z-ratio on MS1 level.
Overall, the Bacterial Metabolomics Facility combines advanced analytical techniques and innovative methodologies to significantly advance the study of bacterial metabolomics.
