Medical Research Reference - Sponsored Whitepaper

Analysing big data sets from small molecules

The Separation Science and Metabolomics Laboratory (SSML) at Murdoch University is located in Perth, Western Australia. Led by A/Prof. Robert Trengove, they have been using the Unscrambler since 2008. Having recently upgraded to the latest version of the software, the group is now enjoying the benefits of the enhanced features. Dr Garth Maker is a lecturer in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Murdoch University and a group leaderintheSSML.

Combining world-class expertise with leading-edge technology The SSML focuses on metabolite research - small molecules such as sugar and amino acids. The group is a key node of Metabolomics Australia (MA) a Bioplatforms Initiative that supports life science research through technology and infrastructure investment in platform`OMICStechnologies. After the initial excitement surrounding the potential of genomics and proteomics, Garth feels that people are cautious about over-hyping metabolomics, but interest in the field is steadily growing. “Metabolomic analysis can be applied to anything from blood to fungus, and our projects range from clinical studies to agricultural biosecurity.” This exciting new field is increasingly being used for biomarker discovery and diagnostics in medicine, for exampleidentificationofmetabolitesthatma yindicatethepresenceofcancercells.

Making sense of complex data The SSML use pattern recognition to separate treatments from control and identify which metabolites are contributing to variance, highlighting which biochemical pathways are involved. “Essentially, we use the Unscrambler to make sense of the large data sets we generatefromverycomplexsamples”explainsG arth. “We often profile over 400 different analytes in a single sample. Picking the patterns in that data would be impossible without the Unscrambler” says Garth. “We recently had a case where a client had data but couldn't make sense of the results. After coming to us, we put their data into the Unscrambler and immediately could analyze patterns and were able to determinewhatwascausingthedifferencebetw eenthe samples.” The SSML have recently upgraded to the latest version of the Unscrambler and are already enjoying the significant improvements in the current release. “We've used the Unscrambler for a while, but we should have upgraded sooner. It's unbelievable the difference between versions 9 and 10,” he says. “The price isn't an issue, the upgrade fee is very reasonable compared to what you're getting and straight away we are seeing the benefitsofthenewversion.”

Executive Summary: 4Conduct research into human, animal, plant, fungal and bacterial metabolomics, with extensive use of high resolution mass spectrometry 4Part of a group of universities and research institutes supported by Metabolomics Australia (MA), delivering world-class small molecule analysis to a wide range of industries 4Network licence of the Unscrambler X gives the group access to the software for analyzing complex data sets which could otherwise be very difficult 4Upgraded to current version of the Unscrambler X and already seeing benefits including time saving, more powerful analytics and improved ease of use