Metabolomics is the final layer of omics that informs of actual time-dependent biochemical changes at a particular instance in the cells. It is now heavily used in clinical, and lab-based mechanistic studies to find out biomarkers, the biochemical basis of a disease, and treatments based on supplementation of deficient metabolites. Metabolomics has especially gained importance in rare disease research where the genetic or transcriptional basis of a disease or disorder is not known. The aim of this JoVE issue is to publish tools and techniques in metabolism research to answer questions pertaining to the pathophysiology of diseases.

In this special issue, we aim at publishing research articles on metabolomics methodologies like untargeted metabolomics, targeted quantitation of metabolites, and stable-isotope labeling to measure fluxes through metabolic pathways. Although these technologies seem straightforward and can be replicated based on a written article, the technical details underlying these technologies often limit their use to people trained in metabolomics, mass spectrometry, and computational biology. We here invite authors to submit visual articles demonstrating any of the steps from sample preparation, chromatography advancements, mass-spectrometry techniques, metabolic reconstruction, and constraint-based modeling, to advanced data analysis tools like machine learning. In addition, we also encourage researchers to submit articles demonstrating models of diseases in cell culture, co-culture, organoid, and animal systems.