Method Development for Omics Analyses using Schirmer Strips

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Biochemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Dry eye disease diagnosis relies on tear analysis.
• Standardized methods are needed for omics studies using clinical samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To standardize Schirmer strips for omics analyses.
• To enable multiple omics analyses from a single sample.
• To assess fluorescein dye's impact on metabolomic analysis.

Main Methods:

• Developed a new method for extracting tear metabolites from Schirmer strips.
• Collected samples from individuals with normal or reduced tear production.
• Analyzed samples using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

Main Results:

• Successfully analyzed samples with an average of ~350 features per sample.
• The method compensated for varying tear volumes and strip wetting levels.
• No bias was observed due to fluorescein dye or different strip wetting levels.

Conclusions:

• Longitudinally cut Schirmer strip halves yield numerous metabolomic features.
• This method allows for multi-omics analysis from a single sample.
• Schirmer strips are suitable for metabolomic analysis across diverse tear volumes and with or without fluorescein.