title: Does centrifugation matter? Centrifugal force and spinning time alter the plasma metabolome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Centrifugation is an indispensable procedure for plasma sample preparation, but applied conditions can vary between labs.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Determine whether routinely used plasma centrifugation protocols (1500×g10 min; 3000×g5 min) influence non-targeted metabolomic analyses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS) data were evaluated with sparse partial least squares discriminant analyses and compared with cell count measurements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Besides significant differences in platelet count, we identified substantial alterations in NMR and HRMS data related to the different centrifugation protocols.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Already minor differences in plasma centrifugation can significantly influence metabolomic patterns and potentially bias metabolomics studies.
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Clinical Chemistry, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, INO F, 3010 Bern, Switzerland ; Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Dorothea
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lesche
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Clinical Chemistry, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, INO F, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Geyer
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Clinical Chemistry, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, INO F, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lienhard
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Clinical Chemistry, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, INO F, 3010 Bern, Switzerland ; Laboratory of Biometry, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece.
authors.forename: Christos T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Nakas
authors.affiliation: Departments of Clinical Research and Radiology (AMSM), Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland ; Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gaëlle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Diserens
authors.affiliation: Departments of Clinical Research and Radiology (AMSM), Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vermathen
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Clinical Chemistry, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, INO F, 3010 Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alexander B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Leichtle
keywords: Centrifugation; Metabolome; Plasma; Preanalytics; Relative centrifugal force; Spinning time