Beatriz Castro

Ms. Beatriz Castro

University of Helsinki, Finland

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

7Years (2020-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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19 December 2020 in Metabolites
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Daniela DuarteDaniela Duarte
Daniela Duarte
Beatriz CastroBeatriz Castro
Beatriz Castro
JPJoana Leonor Pereira
Joana Leonor Pereira
JMJoana Marques
Joana Marques
ACAna Luísa Costa
Ana Luísa Costa
Ana GilAna Gil
Ana Gil
Maintaining a salivary metabolic profile upon sample collection and preparation is determinant in metabolomics. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to identify metabolite changes during short-term storage, at room temperature (RT)/4 °C/−20 °C, and after sample preparation, at RT/4 °C (mimicking typical clinical/laboratory settings). Interestingly, significant metabolic inter-individual and inter-day variability were noted, probably determining sample stability to some extent. After collection, no changes were noted at −20 °C (at least for 4 weeks). RT storage induced decreases in methylated macromolecules (6 h); lactate (8 h); alanine (12 h); galactose, hypoxanthine, pyruvate (24 h); sarcosine, betaine, choline, N-acetyl-glycoproteins (48 h), while acetate increased (48 h). Less, but different, changes were observed at 4 °C, suggesting different oral and microbial status at different temperatures (with a possible contribution from inter-individual and inter-day variability), and identifying galactose, hypoxanthine, and possibly, choline esters, as potential general stability indicators. After preparation, addition of NaN3 did not impact significantly on saliva stabilization, neither at RT nor at 4 °C, although its absence was accompanied by slight increases in fucose (6.5 h) and proline (8 h) at RT, and in xylose (24 h) at 4 °C. The putative metabolic origins of the above variations are discussed, with basis on the salivary microbiome. In summary, after collection, saliva can be stored at RT/4 °C for up to 6 h and at −20 °C for at least 4 weeks. Upon preparation for NMR analysis, samples are highly stable at 25 °C up to 8 h and at 4 °C up to 48 h, with NaN3 addition preventing possible early changes in fucose, proline (6–8 h), and xylose (24 h) levels.