The most advanced mass spectrometers in terms of mass resolution and mass accuracy are high magnetic field Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) instruments.
With FIA, characterizing much of beer’s molecular diversity becomes a tangible task however, it’s not all “sunshine and roses.” Such approaches require the highest possible mass resolution to avoid overlapping signals and to differentiate all possible elemental compositions. By diluting beer and then directly and continuously injecting it into the MS-system, we can analyze beer with minimal changes to its chemical composition.
Another approach was needed.Ī flow-injection analysis (FIA) approach used in clinical metabolomics and for further food samples was our weapon of choice. But extraction methods and chromatographic pretreatment can limit what can be made analytically visible in terms of polarity and physicochemical properties. We needed a holistic approach to decipher the diversity, plurality, and complexity of beer samples. Using such a database, old beer and beer-like beverages (archeochemistry) as well as modern industrialized beer (quality control and inspection) can be put into context. The aim: to produce a fundamental base of knowledge about the beer metabolome and its origin beyond common databases. We set out to characterize this highly complex system on a compositional level by extracting metabolic profiles, which in turn drive certain attributes of the drink the world loves so much. This is in part because of its rich molecular diversity there is a wide range of raw materials present in beer, as well as additional thousands of compounds produced through processes such as malting, boiling, and fermentation. Our work simply stimulates an awareness of that which remains unknown.īeer just happened to be the perfect matrix for applying our approach. But, in addition to already well known molecules, a flood of uncharacterized compounds from food and beverages (the dark metabolome!) influence our metabolism and our health.
Advanced analytical strategies can decipher complex biological and chemical systems and fathom their interaction with each other and our bodies. Metabolite profiling of food provides extensive and valuable data regarding food safety and quality.
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