Enhanced Metabolite Profiling: Hard and Soft Ionization High Resolution Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

Introduction

Metabolomics and its toolset provide a foundation for quantitative biology and are indispensible for the detection of small molecules produced and/or transformed in the cells of living organisms. ^{1, 2} Different estimates indicate that a majority of differentially expressed analytes remain unknowns. The high sensitivity, peak capacity and reproducibility of GC-MS have made it one of the most widely used techniques for plant and animal metabolite profiling. Time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOFMS) provides additional benefits such as reduced analysis times, effective peak deconvolution and an ability to interrogate rich data sets repeatedly for novel materials.