Critical Factors in Sample Collection and Preparation for Clinical Metabolomics of Underexplored Biological Specimens

Abstract

This review article compiles critical pre-analytical factors for sample collection and extraction of eight uncommon or underexplored biological specimens (human breast milk, ocular fluids, sebum, seminal plasma, sweat, hair, saliva, and cerebrospinal fluid) under the perspective of clinical metabolomics. These samples are interesting for metabolomics studies as they reflect the status of living organisms and can be applied for diagnostic purposes and biomarker discovery. Pre-collection and collection procedures are critical, requiring protocols to be standardized to avoid contamination and bias. Such procedures must consider cleaning the collection area, sample stimulation, diet, and food and drug intake, among other factors that impact the lack of homogeneity of the sample group. Precipitation of proteins and removal of salts and cell debris are the most used sample preparation procedures. This review intends to provide a global view of the practical aspects that most impact results, serving as a starting point for the designing of metabolomic experiments.

Keywords: biological specimens; biomarkers; mass spectrometry; metabolite extraction; metabolomics; non-invasive collection; pre-analytical factors.

Figure 1

Distribution of publications on uncommon and underexplored biological specimens in clinical metabolomics using chromatography/mass spectrometry-based methods.