Cracking Cellular Metabolism

Are you interested in novel sample prep and gaining powerful insights with discovery-based LC/MS workflows?

We describe an innovative cellular metabolite extraction method that “cracks” (lyses) cells and quenches metabolism under room-temperature conditions. Both polar metabolite and lipid extracts are then analyzed with the 6546 LC/Q-TOF, a powerful metabolomics platform that offers simultaneous high resolution and extended dynamic range. Finally, we leverage a full suite of recent software introductions (Lipid Annotator) and enhancements (Profinder, MPP, Quant) to elucidate the molecular response to perturbations in a cancer cell model.

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Presenter: Mark Sartain, Ph.D. (LC/MS Applications Scientist, Agilent Technologies, Inc.)

Mark has developed a diverse array of targeted and nontargeted mass-spectrometry based metabolomics and lipidomics applications since joining Agilent in 2012, with a focus on complete hardware/software workflows. Mark began utilizing mass spectrometry in his graduate work to characterize glycoproteins, and later established a novel LC/MS strategy to comprehensively profile and identify complex lipids of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in his postdoctoral fellowship at Colorado State University. He continued designing a wide range of MS-based techniques to measure metabolites and lipids for diverse projects as a Research Scientist at the Institute of Systems Biology (Seattle, WA) prior to joining Agilent.

Presenter: Genevieve Van de Bittner, Ph.D. (Scientist, Agilent Research Laboratories, Agilent Technologies, Inc.)

Genevieve joined the Agilent Research Laboratories within Agilent Technologies in 2016 with a goal of improving technologies for metabolomic and metabolism measurements. Toward this goal, Genevieve has developed new sample preparation methods for LC/MS metabolomic and lipidomic analyses. These efforts have been informed by Genevieve’s training in chemical biology, specifically in the development of novel chemical probes to study biological systems. In her graduate work in Professor Chris Chang’s Lab at UC Berkeley, Genevieve created bioluminescent and fluorescent sensors for the in vivo measurement of reactive oxygen species and metal ions. This training led to a postdoctoral fellowship in Professor Jacob Hooker’s Lab at Harvard Medical School, during which Genevieve developed new radiotracers for imaging specific neuronal populations.