Mar 19, 2025

Public workspaceLipid Extraction for Mass Spectrometry Lipidomics

  • Patricia Yuste-Checa1,
  • Barbara Steigenberger2,
  • F Ulrich Hartl1
  • 1Department of Cellular Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany;
  • 2Mass Spectrometry Core Facility, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany
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Protocol CitationPatricia Yuste-Checa, Barbara Steigenberger, F Ulrich Hartl 2025. Lipid Extraction for Mass Spectrometry Lipidomics. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.36wgqd2zxvk5/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,  which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: March 11, 2025
Last Modified: March 19, 2025
Protocol Integer ID: 124318
Keywords: ASAPCRN
Funders Acknowledgements:
Aligning Science Across Parkinson's
Grant ID: ASAP-000282
Abstract
This protocol details how to perform lipid extraction using a methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE)-based extraction method compatible with mass spectrometry.
Lipid Extraction
Lipid Extraction
Add Amount200 µL of cold methanol and Amount800 µL of cold methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) to the samples.

Pipetting
Vortex.

Mix
Add Amount200 µL of water. Phase separation into aqueous and organic phases should occur.

Pipetting
Centrifuge the extraction mixture at Centrifigation10000 x g, 4°C, 00:10:00 to separate the organic and the aqueous phases.

10m
Centrifigation
Collect the upper organic phase.

Dry it in a SpeedVac and store at Temperature-80 °C until analysis.

For mass spectrometry analysis, reconstitute the samples with Amount20 µL -Amount40 µL of acetonitrile/isopropanol/water in a 65:30:5 ratio (v/v/v).

Note
For LC-MS measurement, a C8 column (Luna 3u, 2 x 100 mm, 3.0 µm, Phenomenex) is recommended. DMPC gets stuck in the C18 column.