Reference Materials for MS-Based Untargeted Metabolomics and Lipidomics: A Review by the Metabolomics Quality Assurance and Quality Control Consortium (mQACC)

Lippa, K.A.; Aristizabal-Henao, J.J.; Beger, R.D; et al.

The metabolomics quality assurance and quality control consortium (mQACC) aims to promote the development, dissemination, and harmonization of best QA procedures and QC practices in untargeted metabolomics. Documented in this mQACC article is a review of current/prospective reference materials (RMs) and QA/QC tools available to obtain high quality MS data in untargeted metabolomics and lipidomics. Included in the discussion is a breakdown of matrix-matched RMs (e.g., NIST’s SRM 1950) and authentic chemical standard mixtures (e.g., CIL’s stable isotope-labeled MSK-QReSS-KIT). Through routine adoption and well-designed SOPs, researchers will be better positioned to achieve reproducible results in intra-/interlaboratory studies.