Introduction

Metabolomics is the study of all the low molecular weight compounds in an organism. An organism's "metabolome" is its full complement of metabolites, in the same way that the genome is all the genetic information it contains. The reactions of animals, plants and microbes to changes in their environments can be followed, and better understood, by following changes in the low molecular weight chemicals they produce. These are the signals and the intermediates, in all of the chemistry that is going on as part of the organism's reaction to the environment.

The JIC Metabolite Service serves the analytical needs of the Centre and our collaborators. We are able to analyse for both broad and targeted metabolites using GC-MS gas chromatography and LC-MS liquid chromatography systems, along with LC-MS-MS instrumentation. All our methods and techniques are capable of identifying, quantifying and providing chemical structures of metabolites.

For a selection of the type of research projects we have contributed to recently, see here.

updated: 6th August 2010