IsoCor: correcting MS data in isotope labeling experiments

Summary: Mass spectrometry (MS) is widely used for isotopic labeling studies of metabolism and other biological processes. Quantitative applications – e.g. metabolic flux analysis – require tools to correct the raw MS data for the contribution of all naturally abundant isotopes. IsoCor is a software that allows such correction to be applied to any chemical species. Hence it can be used to exploit any isotopic tracer, from well-known ( 13 C, 15 N, 18 O, etc) to unus ual ( 57 Fe, 77 Se, etc) isotopes. It also provides new features – e.g. c orrection for the isotopic purity of the tracer – to improve the accuracy of quantitative isotopic studies, and implements an efficient algorithm to process large datasets. Its user-friendly interface makes isotope labeling experiments more accessible to a wider biological community. Availability: IsoCor is distributed under OpenSource licence at http://metasys.insa-toulouse.fr/software/isocor/