Why Metabolon
Metabolomics, the large-scale study of metabolites within cells, biofluids, tissues or organisms, is the definitive representation of the phenotype, providing a real-time assessment of health, wellness, and disease, whether influenced by genes, proteins, the environment, epigenetics, or the microbiome. Executed comprehensively, metabolomics provides life sciences researchers and drug developers with an integrated look at the functional state of a biological system, allowing you to quickly zero in on the biological insights and biomarkers that define health, disease, and treatment response.
Far too often, however, researchers and drug developers fail to benefit from the full power of metabolomics because they employ an incomplete metabolomics solution—one with limited coverage and interpretability—that leaves potentially transformational discoveries in the dark.
An essential part of a metabolomics research project is ensuring broad coverage of the metabolome and an understanding of the metabolic pathways involved, leading to a real actionable insight into what’s going on in the biological system.
In-house metabolomics labs often search against publicly available databases to identify the liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) peaks detected. This informatics approach means they get limited, poor confidence, and potentially incorrect compound identifications.
Most in-house labs can identify 200 to 300 compounds. These limitations compromise the ability to derive biological understanding by not getting comprehensive and accurate coverage of the entire biological space.
In addition to reference database limitations, metabolomics labs might also refer to the number of identified LC/MS peaks as metabolites. In reality, multiple peaks can make up one metabolite (See Figure), so while a given study might show thousands of peaks, the number of identified metabolites is in the hundreds. As you evaluate metabolomics solutions providers, you should base your decision regarding methodology on the number of high-quality identified metabolites, not the number of peaks.
In contrast, Metabolon clients benefit from Metabolon’s informatics approach that relies on identifying LC/MS peaks based on a search of an in-house generated database of more than 5,400 biologically relevant small molecules.
This compound database enables Metabolon to provide the greatest number of identified compounds with the highest possible confidence identifications in the industry. Metabolon’s broad coverage and adherence to the highest level of identification standards are crucial to understanding the biology and producing accurate, actionable insights. Read more about our approach to Level 1 metabolite identifications here.
Once you see the full value of metabolomics, the only remaining question is: who does it best? While many laboratories have metabolite profiling or analytical chemistry capabilities, comprehensive metabolomics technologies are extremely rare.
Accurate, unbiased metabolite identification across the entire metabolome introduces signal-to-noise challenges that very few labs are equipped to handle. Also, translating massive quantities of data into actionable information is slow, if not impossible, for most because proper interpretation takes two things that are in short supply: experience and a comprehensive database.
Using our robust platform and visualization tools, our experts are uniquely able to tell you more about your molecule and develop assay panels to help you zero in on the results you need.
Coverage
Ability to interrogate thousands of metabolites across diverse biochemical space, revealing new insights and opportunities
Comparability
Ability to integrate the data from different studies into the same dataset, in different geographies, among different patients over time
Competency
Ability to inform on proper study design, generate high‐quality data, derive biological insights, and make actionable recommendations
Capacity
Ability to process hundreds of thousands of samples quickly and cost‐efficiently to service rapidly growing demand
Request a quote for our services, get more information on sample types and handling procedures, request a letter of support, or submit a question about how metabolomics can advance your research.
Corporate Headquarters
617 Davis Drive, Suite 100
Morrisville, NC 27560
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 110407
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Phone
+1 (919) 572-1711
Fax
+1 (919) 572-1721
International Headquarters
Metabolon GmbH
Zeppelinstraße 3
85399 Hallbergmoos
Germany
