Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 27, 2026

09:04
Selected Reaction Monitoring Mass Spectrometry for Absolute Protein Quantification
Published on: August 17, 2015
17.0K
Comprehensive, Quantitative Analysis of SRM 1950: the NIST Human Plasma Reference Material
Rupasri Mandal1, Jiamin Zheng1, Lun Zhang1
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E9, Canada.
Analytical Chemistry
|January 6, 2025
Summary
This study comprehensively analyzed NIST human plasma SRM 1950, quantifying 1058 metabolites using multiple analytical techniques. The results provide valuable benchmarks for metabolomics calibration and comparison efforts.
Area of Science:
- Metabolomics
- Analytical Chemistry
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Targeted metabolomics relies on accurate analytical methods for metabolite quantification.
- Comprehensive metabolome coverage is often achieved by combining multiple analytical techniques.
- The NIST human plasma reference material, SRM 1950, is widely used for calibration and validation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively and quantitatively characterize NIST human plasma SRM 1950.
- To provide a large, well-validated list of metabolite concentration values (benchmarks).
- To aid the metabolomics community in calibration and comparison efforts.
Main Methods:
- Combined four analytical platforms: high-resolution NMR spectroscopy, direct injection tandem MS (DI-MS/MS), LC-MS/MS, and ICP-MS.
- Utilized eight validated analytical assays for accurate quantitative measurements.
- Performed computer-aided literature mining to identify previously quantified metabolites.
Main Results:
- Quantitatively characterized 728 unique metabolites using the combined analytical platforms and assays.
- Identified an additional 330 unique metabolites through literature mining.
- Generated a high-confidence list of 1058 metabolites/metabolite species in SRM 1950, including diverse chemical classes.
Conclusions:
- This study presents the most complete quantitative characterization of SRM 1950 to date.
- The generated data provides essential benchmarks for the metabolomics community.
- An online database (SRM1950-DB) is freely available with detailed metabolite information.
Related Concept Videos
High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS)
The resolution of a mass spectrometer depends on the efficiency of separating ions with different ion masses. The mass of an atom is approximated to the sum of the masses of protons and neutrons inside, considering the masses of protons and neutrons as equal. However, the masses of the proton (1.6726 × 10−24 g) and neutron (1.6749 × 10−24 g) are not truly equal. There is a minor error in the expression of atomic masses relative to the simplest atom of hydrogen. For example, the mass of helium...
Chemical Shift: Internal References and Solvent Effects
In an NMR sample, precise measurement of the absolute absorption frequencies of nuclei is difficult. A standard internal reference compound is added, and the frequency difference between the reference signal and sample signals is measured.
The internal reference compound generally used in NMR spectroscopy is tetramethylsilane (TMS). TMS is preferred because it is chemically inert, soluble in NMR solvents, and easily removable. Also, the highly shielded methyl protons in TMS yield an intense...
The internal reference compound generally used in NMR spectroscopy is tetramethylsilane (TMS). TMS is preferred because it is chemically inert, soluble in NMR solvents, and easily removable. Also, the highly shielded methyl protons in TMS yield an intense...

