title: Metabolomics: Definitions and Significance in Systems Biology.
abstract: Nowadays, there is a growing interest in deeply understanding biological mechanisms not only at the molecular level (biological components) but also the effects of an ongoing biological process in the organism as a whole (biological functionality), as established by the concept of systems biology. Within this context, metabolomics is one of the most powerful bioanalytical strategies that allow obtaining a picture of the metabolites of an organism in the course of a biological process, being considered as a phenotyping tool. Briefly, metabolomics approach consists in identifying and determining the set of metabolites (or specific metabolites) in biological samples (tissues, cells, fluids, or organisms) under normal conditions in comparison with altered states promoted by disease, drug treatment, dietary intervention, or environmental modulation. The aim of this chapter is to review the fundamentals and definitions used in the metabolomics field, as well as to emphasize its importance in systems biology and clinical studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Exact and Earth Sciences, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Diadema, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Aline
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klassen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andréa Tedesco
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Faccio
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gisele André Baptista
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Canuto
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pedro Luis Rocha
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: da Cruz
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bioanalytics and Integrated Omics (LaBIOmics), Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), 6154, Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil.
authors.forename: Henrique Caracho
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo (USP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marina Franco Maggi
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Tavares
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bioanalytics and Integrated Omics (LaBIOmics), Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), 6154, Campinas, SP, 13083-970, Brazil. sussulini@iqm.unicamp.br.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sussulini
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D055432:Metabolomics; D049490:Systems Biology
keywords: Clinical Metabolomics; Lipidomics; Metabolomics; Systems Biology; Targeted Metabolomics; Untargeted Metabolomics