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Study Success Happens by Design

Successful studies are no accident. With experience from over 10,000 metabolomic studies across hundreds of experimental models, we have the expertise to help you design a study that delivers specific answers to your specific questions, ensuring you get the most out of your research.

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Collaborative Study Design

All successful studies require three main components: a clearly defined objective, strong study design elements, and adequate study power. We ensure these components are incorporated into every study—which increases the data quality and improves the chance of success.

We support research projects from the moment study requirements are being considered to help you design a successful study that effectively and economically answers your research questions. Every study begins with a one-on-one consultation to fully understand your research goals. Once we understand your goals, we can work with you to design a metabolomic study that will detect salient “cause and effect” metabolic changes with proper consideration of sample types, time points, doses, and phenotypic/disease severity.

Poor Metabolomics Coverage Limits Biological Understanding
Intelligent Study Design

Intelligent Study Design

Strong study design elements are central to uncovering biologically significant results. To minimize variation—and, therefore, noise—the following four design elements must be met: selection of an appropriate matrix, collection of adequate exposures (i.e., dose and time of collection), use of controls for every tested variable, and consistency across the study. Armed with a good understanding of your study goals, our scientists can help you ensure that your study design elements are optimized for minimizing variation and maximizing discovery potential.

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Adequate study power is central to uncovering statistically significant results. Even an otherwise well-designed study can produce ambiguous results if not sufficiently powered. At Metabolon, our 2000+ publications demonstrate our understanding of the factors related to successful experiments. We can help you design properly powered, properly controlled experiments by leveraging our extensive metabolomic experience to ensure your study can overcome biological variation, process variation, collection site variation, and multiple other factors.
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Broad Coverage Leads to Actionable Insights

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Why Metabolon?

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.

Only Metabolon has all four core metabolomics capabilities

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Coverage

Ability to interrogate thousands of metabolites across diverse biochemical space, revealing new insights and opportunities

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Comparability

Ability to integrate the data from different studies into the same dataset, in different geographies, among different patients over time

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Competency

Ability to inform on proper study design, generate high‐quality data, derive biological insights, and make actionable recommendations

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Capacity

Ability to process hundreds of thousands of samples quickly and cost‐efficiently to service rapidly growing demand

Partner with Metabolon to access:

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A library of 5,400+ known metabolites, 2,000 in human plasma, all referenced in the context of biochemical pathways

  • That’s 5x the metabolites of the closest competitor
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Unparalleled depth and breadth of experience analyzing and interpreting metabolomic data to find meaningful results

  • 10,000+ projects with hundreds of clients
  • 3,500+ publications covering 500 diseases, including numerous peer-reviewed journals such as Cell, Nature and Science
  • Nearly 40 PhDs in data science, molecular biology, and biochemistry

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.

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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.

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+1 (919) 572-1721
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References

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2. Bryant, J.A., et al., The impact of an oral purified microbiome therapeutic on the gastrointestinal microbiome. Nat Med, 2026. 32(1): p. 186-196

3. McGovern, B .H., et al., SER-109, an Investigational Microbiome Drugto Reduce Recurrence After Clostridioides difficile Infection: Lessons Learned From a Phase 2 Trial. Clin Infect Dis, 2021. 72(12): p. 2132-2140.

4. Feuerstadt, P., et al., SER-109, an Oral Microbiome Therapy for Recurrent Clostridioides difficile Infection. N Engl J Med, 2022. 386(3): p. 220-229.

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9. Fritsch, D.A., et al., Microbiome function underpins the efficacy of a fiber-supplemented dietary intervention in dogs with chronic large bowel diarrhea. BMC Vet Res, 2022. 18(1): p. 245.

10. Leal, L.N., et al., Preweaning nutrient supply improves lactation productivity and reduces the risk of culling in Holstein cows. J Dairy Sci, 2025. 108(6): p. 5875-5888.

11. Ahsin, M., et al., Soil and pasture health underlie improved beef nutrient density determined by untargeted metabolomics in Southern US grass finished beef systems. NPJ Sci Food, 2025. 9(1): p. 151.

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13. Porter, F .D., et al., Cholesterol oxidation products are sensitive and specific blood-based biomarkers for Niemann-Pick C1 disease. Sci Transl Med, 2010. 2(56): p. 56ra81.

14. Needham, B .D., et al., Plasma and Fecal Metabolite Profiles in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Biol Psychiatry, 2021. 89(5): p. 451-462

15. Li, C., et al., Estradiol and mTORC2 cooperate to enhance prostaglandin biosynthesis and tumorigenesis in TSC2-deficient LAM cells. J Exp Med, 2014. 211(1): p. 15-28.

16. Green, P.G., et al., Metabolic flexibility and reverse remodelling of the failing human heart. Eur Heart J, 2025. 46(25): p. 2422-2433.

17. Maekawa, H., et al., SGLT2 inhibition protects kidney function by SAM-dependent epigenetic repression of inflammatory genes under metabolic stress. J Clin Invest, 2025. 135(19).

18. Wu, D., et al., Integrated screens reveal that guanine nucleotide depletion, which is irreversible via targeting IMPDH2, inhibits pancreatic cancer and potentiates KRAS inhibition. Gut, 2026.

19. Schwerdtfeger, L.A., et al., Gut microbiota and metabolites are linked to disease progression in multiple sclerosis. Cell Rep Med, 2025. 6(4): p. 102055.

20. Wu, H., et al., Microbiome-metabolome dynamics associated with impaired glucose control and responses to lifestyle changes. Nat Med, 2025. 31(7): p. 2222-2231.

21. Jacobs, J.P., et al., Cognitive behavioral therapy for irritable bowel syndrome induces bidirectional alterations in the brain-gut-microbiome axis associated with gastrointestinal symptom improvement. Microbiome, 2021. 9(1): p. 236.

22. Pietzner, M., et al., Plasma metabolites to profile pathways in noncommunicable disease multimorbidity. Nat Med, 2021. 27(3): p. 471-479.

23. Faquih, T.O., et al., Robust Metabolomic Age Prediction Based on a Wide Selection of Metabolites. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2025. 80(3).

24. Scherer, N., et al., Coupling metabolomics and exome sequencing reveals graded effects of rare damaging heterozygous variants on gene function and human traits. Nat Genet, 2025. 57(1): p. 193-205.

25. Holmes, Z.C., et al., Untargeted metabolomic analysis of human milk from healthy mothers reveals drivers of metabolite variability. Sci Rep, 2024. 14(1): p. 20827.

26. Titz, B., et al., Implications of Ocular Confounding Factors for Aqueous Humor Proteomic and Metabolomic Analyses in Retinal Diseases. Transl Vis Sci Technol, 2024. 13(6): p. 17.

27. Bloom, S.M., et al., Cysteine dependence of Lactobacillus iners is a potential therapeutic target for vaginal microbiota modulation. Nat Microbiol, 2022. 7(3): p. 434-450.

28. Leimer, E.M., et al., Lipid profile of human synovial fluid following intra-articular ankle fracture. J Orthop Res, 2017. 35(3): p. 657-666.