AB SCIEX launches mass-spectrometry-based software application to advance lipid biomarker research

Mar 3 2010

AB SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies, today announced the launch of the first mass-spectrometry-based software application specifically designed to advance the study of lipidomics. LipidView™ Software is the first commercially available software using the analytical accuracy and speed of mass spectrometry to characterize molecules in studies of lipidomics, which is an emerging field of systems biology that is being applied for disease research, drug discovery and biomarker research for potential use in clinical settings.

Researchers are increasingly exploring the range of functions that lipids have within the human body, including energy storage, cell membrane structure and hormone signaling. LipidView Software responds to the need of lipidomics researchers who have been seeking tools focused specifically on this new discipline to provide more accurate and faster results. LipidView Software is an automated data processing tool that enables researchers to more effectively identify and quantify lipids from complex samples, providing standardized information from a catalog of more than 40 lipid classes and 23,000 possible lipid species.

Among the organizations adopting LipidView Software is Zora Biosciences, a leader in providing advanced lipidomics services to the pharmaceutical industry. Researchers at Zora Biosciences are supporting drug discovery projects by delivering critical information about lipids that can be used to help develop more effective drugs. They are using LipidView Software to significantly accelerate data processing of mass spectrometry-based analysis for lipid profiling as a means to better understand complex medical conditions, including diabetes and obesity, in efforts to develop better drugs and discover useful lipid biomarkers.

Highlights

• Lipidomics is one of multiple areas of systems biology, which includes proteomics, metabolomics and genomics. Systems biology is an inter-disciplinary study field that focuses on the systematic study of complex interactions in biological systems. Information garnered from these studies help in a wide range of life science applications.
• AB SCIEX is advancing lipidomics by enabling and streamlining the process of profiling lipids through a simple, four-step workflow. This workflow includes batch processing of multiple data sets, database searching, organizing and reporting. LipidView Software is part of a complete mass spectrometry-based workflow solution from AB SCIEX. This workflow combines the AB SCIEX QTRAP 5500 System with the lipidomics software application to deliver high performance capabilities in a simple-to-use format.

Quotes

Kim Ekroos, Ph.D., Head of Bioanalytics, Zora Biosciences

“The ability to identify new drug targets and better understand diseases at the lipid level will ultimately improve drug discovery and help create more effective treatments. LipidView Software gives us the ability to process massive amounts of mass spectrometry data in an automated way that was previously unavailable. This expands our analytical capabilities, accelerates our processes and enables us to generate higher quality information, which not only provides us with more confidence in the results, but also our clients in the pharmaceutical industry.”

Laura Lauman, President, AB SCIEX

“AB SCIEX continues to innovate to help advance life science research by developing new software tools that apply the power of mass spectrometry to a broader range of applications. LipidView Software is another example of how AB SCIEX delivers software that manages complete workflow solutions for drug discovery and biomarker research. This new tool will help researchers expand the study of lipids as part of an emerging field within systems biology.”