Briefly about Metabolomics and Exposomics
Metabolites are small-molecules involved in all processes of biological systems: they are structural units of major macro-molecules e.g. bases and sugars in DNA/RNA, amino acids in peptides/proteins, and lipids in cell membranes. Metabolites are also key mediators and end-products of every cellular biochemical reaction, including central growth, hormonal signaling, energy production, cell-cell communication, and detoxification via xenobiotic metabolism. The chemical exposome includes all chemicals in the environment that we are exposed to over our life-times. It includes drugs and commercial and industrial chemicals, but also includes natural chemicals from diet and the microbiome.
Metabolomics aims at a systematic measure of the changes in metabolite levels in a living system (cell, tissue or organism) to describe its metabolic state and response to environmental challenges or physiological conditions.
Exposomics is a combination of target quantification and untargeted small molecule profiling that aims to cumulatively measure known environmental chemical exposures while also discovering unknown exposures.
Contact person
For general inquiries about metabolomics and exposomics services at SciLifeLab, please contact Annika.
Umeå University
Platform Coordination Officer
annika.johansson01@umu.se
+46 (0) 72 244 52 54
What we offer at SciLifeLab
MS-based Metabolomics
The Swedish Metabolomics Center (SMC) in Umeå (UmU and SLU), and the Chalmers Mass Spectrometry Infrastructure (CMSI) in Gothenburg (Chalmers), collectively offer complementary national metabolomics resources for standard- and high-throughput targeted and untargeted mass spectrometry (MS)-based measurements of metabolites.
- Untargeted and targeted metabolite and lipid profiling
- Quantitative panels of metabolites
- Method development support, tailored to specific user needs
- Extended metabolite identification and substance confirmation
- Down-stream data processing and biological interpretation
In addition to the services above, both units maintain and support open access laboratories, offering researchers extensive training opportunities and the freedom to independently access a wide range of mass spectrometers.
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NMR-based Metabolomics
The Swedish NMR Centre (SNC) is a joint infrastructure with nodes at the University of Gothenburg and Umeå University. NMR-based metabolomics is offered at both sites with emphasis on biofluids (GU) or tissue (UmU) analysis. Both nodes operate with a high degree of automation from sample preparation to data acquisition and can also help with planning and analysis
- Targeted analysis of human serum/plasma, including lipoprotein profiling, absolute concentrations of metabolites, composite inflammation markers and quality control assessment of each sample
- Untargeted analysis of in principle any biofluid or liquid extract
- Non-destructive metabolite profiling of intact tissue using HR-MAS NMR
- Automated sample preparation in 96-well format, including extraction protocols
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Spatial Metabolomics
Spatial mass spectrometry is a label-free method that allows for the visualization and quantitative analysis of the distribution of targeted or untargeted chemical species directly in tissue sections.
The Spatial Mass Spectrometry unit is localized in Uppsala and offers services including:
- Project design
- Sample preparation including cryo-sectioning
- Method developments
- Targeted or untargeted imaging of metabolites in tissue sections
- Quantitative analysis
- Image data processing and statistical analysis
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Exposure Analysis of Chemical Contaminants
The concept of the “exposome” was introduced to focus on complex environmental causes of disease. Exposomics complements existing omics profiling (e.g., genomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics and proteomics) by incorporating assessments of chemical and biological environmental exposures across an individual’s lifespan.
The chemical exposome includes all the exposures to environmental anthropogenic chemical contaminants in organisms and ecosystems, which can be detected at trace levels in humans (biofluids) but also in a variety of environmental sources (water, food, air). At SciLifeLab, the Exposomics unit provides a combination of high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) research tools to enable pioneering investigations into the complex effects of chemical pollution on human health and ecosystems.
The Exposomics unit offers:
- Sample preparation in dedicated ultratrace clean laboratory
- Trace analysis for a variety of human and environmental samples
- Liquid (LC) or gas chromatography (GC) and HRMS with Orbitrap technology
- Combined multi-class target and nontarget acquisition
- Structural elucidation of unknown small molecules
- Data processing with open science software and FAIR workflows
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Other Infrastructure Resources
BioMS is a nationally distributed infrastructure for biological mass spectrometry and proteomics, enabling the cutting-edge mass spectrometry and related advanced technology platforms to be part of research projects across Sweden. Each node offers specialized analytical techniques and experimental knowledge to meet the Swedish life science community demands.