Methods of lipid analysis

Abstract Lipidomics is the study of reaction pathways involved in lipid metabolism within biological systems. The lipidome consists of the lipid profile of a particular sample such as cell, tissue or organism, which can be integrated as a metabolome sub-set (Fahy et al., 2009). Lipids are the principal form of energy storage, major structural elements of membranes and play crucial roles in signalling. Therefore, it is essential to be able to detect their presence, quantify their abundances and assess their changes during, among others, development, disease, ageing or drug treatment. Recent improvements in high- and ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry (MS) techniques have been able to provide qualitative and quantitative information on multiple lipid subclasses constituents of the lipidome. Structural information on lipids has been achieved by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) with photodissociation, electron-based fragmentations and/or collisions with gasses. MS can detect changes in lipid levels by the use of internal standards, making it a key diagnostic tool. Hence, the field of lipidomics has grown in the last decade largely due to the advances in mass spectrometry.