An extremely simple method for extraction of lysophospholipids and phospholipids from blood samples

Lipids, lysophospholipids and phospholipids in particular, have been shown to be biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for human diseases. While many extraction and analytical methods have been developed for quantitative analyses of these molecules, most of them are laborious and time-consuming, with associated issues of poor reproducibility. This becomes one of the critical bottle-necks to move lipid markers to clinics. In the current work, we have developed an extremely simple method for lysophospholipids and phospholipids extraction from human plasma or serum samples, which only utilizes a single methanol (MeOH) solvent and involves a single step of centrifugation. This method has been subjected to strict validation by comparing it with classical lipid extraction methods. This simple method will be extremely useful for the lipidomic, diseases marker, and lipid biochemistry fields not only for its potential wide applications associated with its simplicity and reproducibility, but also for its impact in moving lipid markers into clinics through high-throughput processing.-Zhao, Z., and Y. Xu. An extremely simple method for extraction of lysophospholipids and phospholipids from blood samples. J Lipid Res. 2010. 51: 652-659.