HILIC Based LC/MS for Metabolite Analysis

Recent developments in column packing materials have improved analysis of a broad range of chemical groups with better chromatographic results in terms of peak shape, capacity factor etc. Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) has achieved significant progress especially on the analysis of polar molecules. The technique is analogous to normal-phase chromatography and an alternative approach to effectively separate small polar compounds. Researches focusing on applications of HILIC are increasing due to their unique application in targeted and untargeted metabolomic profiling, which enable the analysis of a wide range of metabolites from multiple metabolic pathways. Accordingly, improved profiling leads to individualized and predictive disease information for personalization of treatment. Combined application of advanced spectroscopic and separation technique is essential for metabolomic studies. This chapter reviews the reference information on the application of HILIC and MS related to separation of metabolites and its effect on various parameters.

Keywords: Biological matrix, Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography, HILIC, HILIC-MS, Metabolite analyze, Metabolites, Metabolomics, Method development steps, Organic solvent, pH, Polar compounds, Sample preparation, Separation mechanism, Stationary phases, Targeted metabolomics.