LC-MS-based methodology for global metabolite profiling in metabonomics/metabolomics

In order to perform metabonomic investigations, it is necessary to generate comprehensive “global” metabolite profiles from complex samples, such as biofluids and tissues/tissue extracts. Analytical technologies based on liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) are destined to become a major source of global metabolite profiling data. Here, we describe and compare the utility of various analytical strategies and techniques currently used for LC-MS (capillary, high-performance and ultra-performance). We describe current challenges in the application of LC-MS-based techniques for metabonomic analysis.