title: Globally Optimized Targeted Mass Spectrometry: Reliable Metabolomics Analysis with Broad Coverage.
abstract: Targeted detection is one of the most important methods in mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics; however, its major limitation is the reduced metabolome coverage that results from the limited set of targeted metabolites typically used in the analysis. In this study we describe a new approach, globally optimized targeted (GOT)-MS, that combines many of the advantages of targeted detection and global profiling in metabolomics analysis, including the capability to detect unknowns, broad metabolite coverage, and excellent quantitation. The key step in GOT-MS is a global search of precursor and product ions using a single liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole (LC-QQQ) mass spectrometer. Here, focused on measuring serum metabolites, we obtained 595 precursor ions and 1 890 multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions, under positive and negative ionization modes in the mass range of 60-600 Da. For many of the MRMs/metabolites under investigation, the analytical performance of GOT-MS is better than or at least comparable to that obtained by global profiling using a quadrupole-time-of-flight (Q-TOF) instrument of similar vintage. Using a study of serum metabolites in colorectal cancer (CRC) as a representative example, GOT-MS significantly outperformed a large targeted MS assay containing ∼160 biologically important metabolites and provided a complementary approach to traditional global profiling using Q-TOF-MS. GOT-MS thus expands and optimizes the detection capabilities for QQQ-MS through a novel approach and should have the potential to significantly advance both basic and clinical metabolic research.
authors.affiliation: Northwest Metabolomics Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington , 850 Republican Street, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States.|Jiangxi Key Laboratory for Mass Spectrometry and Instrumentation, East China Institute of Technology , Nanchang, Jiangxi Province 330013, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Haiwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Northwest Metabolomics Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington , 850 Republican Street, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States.|Department of Applied Chemistry, China Agricultural University , Beijing 100193, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Northwest Metabolomics Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington , 850 Republican Street, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States.
authors.forename: Jiangjiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Northwest Metabolomics Research Center, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington , 850 Republican Street, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States.|Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center , 1100 Fairview Avenue North, Seattle, Washington 98109, United States.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Raftery
mesh_terms: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor