Table 1 Features of untargeted and targeted metabolomics approaches
From: To metabolomics and beyond: a technological portfolio to investigate cancer metabolism
Metabolomics | |
|---|---|
Untargeted | Targeted |
Discovery strategy (hypothesis generating) | Validation strategy (hypothesis driven) |
Global and comprehensive analysis | Subset analysis |
High number of metabolites studied | Small number of metabolites |
Correlated to database/libraries | Correlated to reference standards |
Qualitative identification | Identification of metabolites known a priori |
Relative quantification | Absolute quantification |
Challenging data interpretation | Easy data analysis and interpretation |
Samples preparation requires a global metabolites extraction | Samples preparation is metabolite-specific |
Biomarker discovery | Biomarker validation |
Global/untargeted screening | Pathway mapping targeted metabolomic profiling |
