A selective metabolite array for the detection of phosphometabolites

Immobilised metal ion affinity (IMA) has been traditionally used specifically for the separation of phosphorylated proteins and nucleic acids, in proteomics and genomics, respectively. This report describes the novel application of IMA in metabolomics for the development of metabolite arrays to detect phosphometabolites using a plasma polymer-modified surface. Immobilisation of gallium, zirconium, cobalt, copper, zinc, nickel, iron, and chromium to acrylic acid plasma polymer followed by subsequent exposure to metabolites (phospho- and non-phosphometabolites) was investigated. Results analysed using ToF-SIMS suggests that gallium and zirconium exhibit higher phosphometabolite affinity and specificity compared to other metals, and can be used to develop metabolite arrays for the detection of phosphometabolites.