Objective: Lipid metabolism is tightly regulated to maintain homeostasis. Loss of control can result in unwanted cascades of biological events triggering deleterious pathophysiological conditions. Evidently, this is impacted by the nutrition. However, the details and dynamics on the affected underlying lipid networks still remain poorly defined. The evolution of lipidomics technologies is set to tackle this problem, driven by high expectations in its ability to afford new opportunities for studying lipids in health and disease.
Methods: The initial groundwork has been made through advanced mass spectrometry and high-throughput technologies for the precise assessment of lipidomes and biomarker discovery, enabled by automation and software tools. We are now introducing the ion-mobility based Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulations (SLIM) technology to further unlock new dimensions of the lipidome in unprecedented timeframes.
Results: SLIM favors diagnostic use by its ultimate simplicity, unparalleled resolution, speed, and scalability, permitting wider lipidome coverage without compromising time and robustness through its LC free strategy. We show the power of the technology by quantitative in-depth profiling of such as molecular gangliosides. In conjunction with parallel developments such as dynamic FLUX determinations, accurate quantification and standardization, this collectively reshapes lipid biochemistry. The whole field is further advanced by the introduction of the International Lipidomics Society (ILS) flagship, fostering international community-wide coordination and communication for the creation of lipidomics specific guidelines for good scientific practice.
Conclusions: A new era in lipidomics is underway, paving the way to new clinical and industrial applications.
