PROJECT SUMMARY The Metabolomics Core will provide analytic measurements of biologic building blocks, amino acids, nucleotides, lipids and carbohydrates to investigators of the Center for Iron and Heme Disorders (CIHD). Metabolomics is the unbiased survey of metabolites found within a tissue, biological fluid, organism, culture or other biological source. Currently metabolomics is a comparative science; typically an analysis is performed to identify the differences found between biological samples that have been subjected to a treatment or condition. This can be a genetic mutation, drug treatment or environmental constraint. No one method is fully capable of completely profiling the metabolome of a cell or tissue. To maximize the number of metabolites observed, the Core is equipped with three chemical analysis platforms, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy. The research base of the CIHD focuses on questions that can easily be addressed with these services. The staff of the proposed Metabolomics Core will assist investigators in training sessions for sample preparation, equipment use and analysis. Program staff will also assist users in preparation of materials for publications and presentations within the CIHD and externally to national and international meetings.