A Timeline of Stable Isotopes and Mass Spectrometry in the Life Sciences

Lehmann, W.

Here, Wolf-Dieter Lehmann chronicles the development of stable isotopes (principally ¹³C, D, ¹⁵N, and ¹⁸O) and the MS-based techniques used for analysis. The review is divided into time segments (1920-1950, 1950-1980, 1980-2000, and 2000-2010), with methods and applications discussed therein. Included in the highlights is the use of stable isotopes (as quantitative standards or metabolic tracers) with LC- or GC-MS to address questions in ‘omics (e.g., metabolomics, proteomics, and lipidomics), metabolism, and forensics, among other fields of application.