What Are the Types of Metabolomics?

Metabolomics refers to the qualitative and quantitative analysis of all small-molecule metabolites within biological systems, including amino acids, organic acids, sugars, lipids, and other metabolic intermediates. The aim is to elucidate biochemical processes underlying physiological conditions, disease mechanisms, pharmacological responses, or environmental influences based on changes in metabolite abundance.

Metabolomics can be classified along multiple dimensions:

• By research strategy: untargeted metabolomics vs. targeted metabolomics
• By detection targets or compound classes: lipidomics, volatilomics, etc.
• By analytical platform: mass spectrometry (MS)-based and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based approaches

Classification by Research Strategy

1. Untargeted Metabolomics

(1) Objective: To comprehensively profile the metabolome and identify metabolites exhibiting significant alterations.

(2) Features

• No predefined target list
• Simultaneous detection of hundreds to thousands of metabolites
• Well-suited for studies investigating unknown biological mechanisms or biomarker discovery

(3) Typical Applications

• Comparative analyses between disease models and control groups
• Assessment of drug- or environment-induced metabolic perturbations
• Characterization of microbial metabolic outputs

(4) Technical Implementation

Typically employs LC-MS or GC-MS platforms in combination with multivariate statistical analysis (e.g., PCA, PLS-DA) and metabolic pathway enrichment analysis.

2. Targeted Metabolomics

(1) Objective: Quantitative measurement of specific metabolic pathways or predefined metabolites.

(2) Features

• High sensitivity and specificity
• Allows absolute quantification
• Commonly used for validation of untargeted metabolomics findings

(3) Typical Applications

• Quantitative analyses of defined metabolic pathways (e.g., TCA cycle, amino acid metabolism)
• Verification of candidate diagnostic biomarkers
• Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies

(4) Technical Implementation

Commonly performed using LC-MS/MS (e.g., triple quadrupole platforms) with external standards to construct calibration curves for absolute quantification.

Subclassification by Metabolite Types or Research Fields

1. Lipidomics

• Specializes in the analysis of lipid metabolites, including fatty acids, phospholipids, sphingolipids, and triglycerides.
• Associated research areas include cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and neurodegenerative disorders.
• Representative analytical platforms include UHPLC-QTOF and Orbitrap-MS.

2. Amino Acid / Organic Acid-Focused Metabolomics

Targets small-molecule amino acids and organic acids and is frequently applied in studies of energy metabolism and liver function.

3. Volatilomics

Focuses on volatile compounds detected in exhaled breath, sweat, and other biofluids using GC-MS, and has been investigated for non-invasive disease diagnostics.

4. Pharmacometabolomics

Examines inter-individual metabolic responses following drug administration to support personalized medicine and drug response prediction.

5. Microbial Metabolomics / Co-metabolomics

Investigates metabolic interactions between the host and gut microbiota and is often integrated with 16S rRNA sequencing or metagenomic profiling.

Classification by Analytical Platform

 



Application Directions Across Metabolomics Types

• Disease mechanism research, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, and hepatitis
• Drug development and toxicological evaluation through metabolic fingerprinting to assess efficacy and side effects
• Food and nutrition science to investigate metabolic regulation by dietary components
• Microbial and environmental metabolomics to characterize metabolic networks within ecosystems

Integrated Metabolomics Analysis Solutions at MtoZ Biolabs

Advanced metabolomics workflows can support different research objectives across discovery, validation, and mechanistic interpretation phases:

• Untargeted metabolomics: performed on high-resolution mass spectrometry platforms (e.g., Thermo Orbitrap Exploris 240/480) to achieve broad metabolite coverage and high reproducibility.
• Targeted metabolomics: enabling absolute quantification of over 200 defined metabolites, including amino acids, organic acids, and fatty acids.
• Multi-omics integration: metabolomics may be combined with transcriptomics or proteomics to reconstruct molecular networks and regulatory pathways.
• Customized bioinformatic analysis: including pathway visualization, interpretation of significantly altered metabolites, and biological context evaluation.

Metabolomics constitutes a systematic analytical framework rather than a single assay, encompassing discovery-based surveys, targeted validation, and mechanistic exploration. Whether the objective is to characterize previously unrecognized metabolic perturbations or to quantitatively investigate specific metabolic circuits, different metabolomics strategies provide complementary value. Selecting an appropriate analytical strategy and platform is essential for obtaining high-quality and biologically meaningful results. MtoZ Biolabs utilizes high-precision mass spectrometry platforms together with dedicated bioinformatics capabilities to facilitate metabolomics analyses and downstream data interpretation, thereby supporting research involving metabolic pathway characterization and metabolite profiling.

MtoZ Biolabs, an integrated chromatography and mass spectrometry (MS) services provider.

Related Services

Targeted Metabolomics Analysis Service