Comprehensive nutritional assessment of fat-soluble vitamins by liquid chromatography-atmospheric-pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry

Optimal nutrition is essential for normal growth and development throughout the lifespan. This includes fat-soluble vitamins (FSVs), A, D, E, and K given their key roles in promoting cardiometabolic and immune health. Chronic vitamin deficiencies are modifiable risk factors that contribute to chronic disease. Nutritional metabolomics is an emerging field of epidemiology involving the untargeted analysis of bioactive small molecules from the diet in complex biological samples. The aim of this metabolomic research proposal is to develop new methodologies to objectively measure a broad panel of FSV species and their metabolites. Currently, there exist few validated analytical methods that allow for reliable determination of the full spectrum of FSVs in small volumes of blood as required for new advances in personalized health. To achieve this, we propose a reversed-phase liquid chromatography (LC) assay as a high efficiency separation technique that can be used to resolve mixtures of FSVs and their bioactive metabolites. LC will be coupled to atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) with high resolution mass spectrometry, an ionization technique better suited for non-ionic and non-polar compounds, that offers a sensitive and selective approach for the quantification of FSVs with sub-nanomolar detection limits and minimal ion suppression effects.

Faculty Supervisor:

Philip Britz-McKibbin

Student:

Partner:

Universidad CEU San Pablo

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Education

University:

McMaster University

Program: