Metabolomics-based biomarker discovery

Metabolomics allows the simultaneous quantification of multiple metabolites. Metabolomics-driven data are considered to reflect phenotype more directly than other omics data such as those derived from genomics, transcriptomics, or proteomics. Therefore, this technology is particularly suitable for the discovery of new biomarkers. It also enables absolute quantification, which should facilitate the sharing of observed data and evaluation of biomarker specificity. However, some technical difficulties remain, particularly those associated with the reproducible quantification of metabolites and establishment of a standard procedure for the processing of clinical samples. Here, we describe certain technical aspects of metabolomics and how they may be applied to the processing of clinical samples.