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

de Souza, Hygor M. R.; Pereira, Tássia T. P.; de Sá, Hanna C.; Alves, Marina A.; Garrett, Rafael; Canuto, Gisele A. B.

doi:10.3390/metabo14010036

Open AccessReview

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

by

Hygor M. R. de Souza

^1,†

,

Tássia T. P. Pereira

^2,3,†

,

Hanna C. de Sá

⁴,

Marina A. Alves

⁵

,

Rafael Garrett

^1,6,*

and

Gisele A. B. Canuto

^4,*

¹

Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, LabMeta—LADETEC, Rio de Janeiro 21941-598, Brazil

²

Departamento de Genética, Ecologia e Evolucao, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil

³

Departamento de Biodiversidade, Evolução e Meio Ambiente, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto 35400-000, Brazil

⁴

Departamento de Química Analítica, Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador 40170-115, Brazil

⁵

Instituto de Pesquisa de Produtos Naturais Walter Mors, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-599, Brazil

⁶

Department of Laboratory Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital—Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Metabolites 2024, 14(1), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14010036

Submission received: 24 November 2023 / Revised: 2 January 2024 / Accepted: 3 January 2024 / Published: 5 January 2024

(This article belongs to the Section Advances in Metabolomics)

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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; pre-analytical factors; non-invasive collection; metabolite extraction; mass spectrometry; biomarkers; metabolomics

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MDPI and ACS Style

de Souza, H.M.R.; Pereira, T.T.P.; de Sá, H.C.; Alves, M.A.; Garrett, R.; Canuto, G.A.B. Critical Factors in Sample Collection and Preparation for Clinical Metabolomics of Underexplored Biological Specimens. Metabolites 2024, 14, 36. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14010036

AMA Style

de Souza HMR, Pereira TTP, de Sá HC, Alves MA, Garrett R, Canuto GAB. Critical Factors in Sample Collection and Preparation for Clinical Metabolomics of Underexplored Biological Specimens. Metabolites. 2024; 14(1):36. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14010036

Chicago/Turabian Style

de Souza, Hygor M. R., Tássia T. P. Pereira, Hanna C. de Sá, Marina A. Alves, Rafael Garrett, and Gisele A. B. Canuto. 2024. "Critical Factors in Sample Collection and Preparation for Clinical Metabolomics of Underexplored Biological Specimens" Metabolites 14, no. 1: 36. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14010036

APA Style

de Souza, H. M. R., Pereira, T. T. P., de Sá, H. C., Alves, M. A., Garrett, R., & Canuto, G. A. B. (2024). Critical Factors in Sample Collection and Preparation for Clinical Metabolomics of Underexplored Biological Specimens. Metabolites, 14(1), 36. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo14010036

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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

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