Lipids are indispensable biomolecules that orchestrate countless biological processes essential for life. Beyond serving as structural components of cellular membranes and reservoirs of metabolic energy, they regulate cell signaling, inflammation, immune responses, neuronal communication, hormone synthesis, and membrane dynamics. Because lipid metabolism is tightly integrated with virtually every physiological system, maintaining lipid homeostasis is critical for normal cellular function and overall health. Disruptions in lipid composition or metabolism are now recognized as key drivers of numerous human diseases, including but not limited to cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, obesity, metabolic dysfunctions, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune disorders, kidney disease, and infectious diseases. Consequently, comprehensive lipid profiling has become an indispensable approach for uncovering disease mechanisms, identifying clinically relevant biomarkers, monitoring therapeutic responses, and accelerating drug discovery.

Advances in high-resolution mass spectrometry have transformed lipidomics into one of the most powerful technologies in modern biomedical research. Today, researchers can simultaneously identify and quantify thousands of lipid molecules spanning diverse lipid classes and metabolic pathways, providing an unprecedented systems-level understanding of lipid biology.

At BelaxOmics, we combine the analytical power of the Shimadzu Nexera 40 ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) with the timsMetabo platform to deliver comprehensive, high-resolution 4D-Lipidomics. Our 4D-Lipidomics workflow utilizes Trapped Ion Mobility Spectrometry (TIMS) integrated with high-resolution mass spectrometry (timsTOF platforms). The "4D" refers to four distinct analytical dimensions to study complex lipid molecules in a single analysis: 

• Retention Time (RT): Time takes for a lipid to elute from a LC column and separating lipids based on their hydrophobicity.

• Collisional Cross Section (CCS): Added orthogonal dimension from ion mobility that separates lipids according to their distinct 3D shape, size, and charge.

• Mass-to-Charge Ratio (m/z): Standard mass spectrometry metric that measures the mass of the lipid ions.

• MS/MS Spectra (Fragment Information): Structural fingerprint created by fragmenting the lipid ions, allowing researchers to determine exact head groups and fatty acid chains. 

4D approach is powered by PASEF (Parallel Accumulation Serial Fragmentation) and processed via MetaboScape, providing highly confident lipid annotations and reducing spectral complexity.