LIPID_MAPS
LIPID MAPS (Lipid Metabolites and Pathways Strategy) is a web portal designed to be a gateway to Lipidomics resources. The resource has spearheaded a classification of biological lipids, dividing them into eight general categories.[1] LIPID MAPS provides standardised methodologies for mass spectrometry analysis of lipids, e.g.[2][3][4]
LIPID MAPS has been cited as evidence of a growing appreciation of the study of lipid metabolism[5] and the rapid development and standardisation of the lipidomics field [6][7]
Key LIPID MAPS resources include:
- LIPID MAPS Structure Database (LMSD) - a database of structures and annotations of biologically relevant lipids,[8] containing over 46000 different lipids. The paper describing this resource has, according to PubMed, been cited more than 200 times.
- LIPID MAPS In-Silico Structure Database (LMISSD) - a database of computationally predicted lipids generated by expansion of headgroups for commonly occurring lipid classes
- LIPID MAPS Gene/Proteome Database (LMPD) - a database of genes and gene products which are involved in lipid metabolism[9]
Tools available from LIPID MAPS enable scientists to identify likely lipids in their samples from mass spectrometry data, a common method to analyse lipids in biological specimens. In particular, LipidFinder [10] enables analysis of MS data. Tutorials and educational material on lipids are also available at the site.[11]