The Application of Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry in Untargeted Metabolomics: from Separation to Identification

Untargeted metabolomics aims to comprehensively profile metabolites as many as possible in biological samples.Recently,ion mobility-mass spectrometry(IM-MS)has emerged as a powerful technology for untargeted metabolomics.The emerging role of IM-MS in untargeted metabolomics enables the separation of metabolite isomers and generation of multidimension data to support the identification of metabolites.In this review,we first introduced the basic principles of IM-MS instruments commonly used for untargeted metabolomics.Then,we demonstrated the application of IM-MS for metabolite separation and identification of both known and unknown metabolites.Finally,we discussed the future developments of IM-MS technology to improve untargeted metabolomics.