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Lipids have been analysed by mass spectrometry (MS) for several decades, however, lipidomics is one of the youngest members of the “omics” family. Nevertheless, lipidomics as a discipline is growing rapidly and contributing important information to many areas of bioscience. In this book we will discuss emerging techniques relevant to the measurement of lipids by MS, which go beyond the standard methods of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and direct-infusion mass spectrometry (DIMS). The reader will also be provided with an overview of the standard techniques.

Many scientists who encounter lipidomics for the first time are only aware of DIMS, LC-MS and GC-MS based techniques. However, the diversity of lipid species is huge, with multiple isomers represented by a single exact mass value. In this book we will go beyond the standard methods to introduce the reader to emerging methods that allow isomer differentiation, improve sensitivity, allow spatial location and transcend annotation of simply matching a mass to a database entry.

In the first two chapters, the established MS methods used in lipidomics are discussed, including the important application of multivariate statistics. There follows three chapters devoted to the emerging techniques of low-flow-rate chromatography, ion mobility separations and MS imaging. The growing area of derivatisation for lipid analysis is discussed in the next chapter, followed by chapters emphasising the application of Paternò–Büchi reactions, and the use of derivatisation chemistry for analysis of hydroxy fatty acids and the analysis of lipid vitamins. In the final chapter the use of new scan modes and the availability of lipidomic resources are discussed.

In this volume we hope to acquaint the reader with the current MS-based techniques that provide the basis of modern lipidomics and more importantly open a window to view the possibilities of using newer emerging technologies to enhance the information content of MS analysis.

William Griffiths and Yuqin Wang

Swansea, Wales, UK

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