Functional lipidomics
Lipid diversity
Cells contain tens of thousands different lipids with pleiotropic functions that we are only beginning to understand. Lipids provide structure to the cell and serve as energy source, but they also act as signaling molecules with hormone-like character, either by influencing membrane properties or interacting with biomolecules.
Pharmacological interest in lipids
Bioactive lipids are involved in the initiation and progression of manifold diseases. Prostaglandins, for example, mediate the classical symptoms of inflammation, such as reddening, swelling, fever, and pain. While the number of studies ascribing physiological functions to specific lipid species is increasing, these encouraging insights are still contrasted by a large majority of lipids, whose bioactivities remain enigmatic. In light of this widely unexplored field, we expect strategies that specifically target lipid profiles to be of high therapeutic potential, not only in the context of inflammation.
Mass spectrometric lipid analytics
How can lipid diversity be investigated? The key technology behind is mass spectrometric lipidomics. Our targeted lipidomics approach is based on ultraperformance liquid chromatography, differential ion mobility spectrometry and QTRAP tandem mass spectrometry and addresses more than 600 lipids from different classes, among them phospholipids, neutral lipids, fatty acids and lipid mediators. To find an overview about the lipids in our portfolio click here.
| Lipid class |
Subclasses |
Number |
| Phospholipids (PL) |
|
275 |
| Oxidized phospholipids |
|
54 |
| Lysophospholipids (LPL) | 58 |
|
| Ether phospholipids | 30 | |
| Sphingolipids (SL) |
|
108 |
| Acylglycerols |
|
207 |
| Free cholesterol | 1 | |
| Cholesteryl ester |
|
22 |
| Free fatty acids | 28 |
|
| Acyl-CoA |
|
25 |
| Lipid Mediators and Endocannabinoids |
|
80 |
| Long-chain metabolites of Vitamin E | 34 |
|
| Platelet-activating factor (PAF) | 1 |
From functional lipidomics to novel pharmacological strategies
We combine modern UPLC-MS/MS-based lipid analytics with a broad spectrum of biochemical, cell biological and molecular pharmacological methods to identify bioactive lipids and investigate their role in cellular processes related to disease.
We aim to:
- identify novel bioactive lipids
- elucidate the underlying biosynthetic pathways
- reveal their signal transduction
- explore their pharmacological potential
