SPE-IMS-MS: An automated platform for sub-sixty second surveillance of endogenous metabolites and xenobiotics in biofluids.

Characterization of endogenous metabolites and xenobiotics is essential to deconvoluting the genetic and environmental causes of disease. However, surveillance of chemical exposure and disease-related changes in large cohorts requires an analytical platform that offers rapid measurement, high sensitivity, efficient separation, broad dynamic range, and application to an expansive chemical space. Here, we present a novel platform for small molecule analyses that addresses these requirements by combining solid-phase extraction with ion mobility spectrometry and mass spectrometry (SPE-IMS-MS).

Evaluation of a high-throughput online solid phase extraction-tandem mass spectrometry system for in vivo bioanalytical studies.

High throughput-solid phase extraction tandem mass spectrometry (HT-SPE/MS) is a fully automated system that integrates sample preparation using ultrafast online solid phase extraction (SPE) with mass spectrometry detection. HT-SPE/MS is capable of conducting analysis at a speed of 5-10 s per sample, which is several fold faster than chromatographically based liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Its existing applications mostly involve in vitro studies such as high-throughput therapeutic target screening, CYP450 inhibition, and transporter evaluations.