Spectroscopic and Statistical Methods in Metabonomics

Abstract

Metabonomics is rapidly evolving through advances in analytical technologies together with the development of new hyphenated approaches that are increasingly being applied to analyze complex biological systems. Improvements in analytical performance, such as increased sensitivity and selectivity, are providing greater resolution to analytical datasets and the rich potential of metabonomics as a systems biology tool of choice is becoming clear. However, such improvements are resulting in datasets becoming increasingly demanding in terms of data handling and interpretation, and the degree to which metabonomics continues to develop will be dependent on how chemometrics and data-handling approaches keep pace with continually improving analytical technologies. This review provides an overview of the field of metabonomics, with a particular focus on the analytical techniques that are chiefly employed and the chemometric methods that have found most use. However, in addition, we mention less widely used analytical methods and suggest that advanced statistical methods will play a larger role in the future.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Daniel S Waterman is a paid employee of Metabometrix Ltd, Frank W Bonner is a consultant to Metabometrix Ltd, and John C Lindon is a director of, and a consultant to, Metabometrix Ltd. John Lindon also holds stock in the company and is named as a co-inventor on several metabonomics-based patent filings. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.