Application of an Imprint-and-Report Sensor Array for Detection of the Dietary Metabolite Trimethylamine N-Oxide and Its Precursors in Complex Mixtures

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is produced in the gut via metabolism of dietary betaine, choline, and carnitine, and elevated TMAO in plasma is associated with adverse health effects, including cardiovascular events. Currently, we lack high throughput methods for sensing these metabolites and detecting high TMAO. Thus, we have adapted our previously described imprint-and-report fluorescent sensing method using dynamic combinatorial libraries (DCLs) to create a sensor array for these four metabolites that functions at physiologically relevant concentrations. Templation of DCLs with dye and subsequent addition of analytes generates a fluorescent fingerprint for each metabolite and allows for differentiation via principal component analysis (PCA). Furthermore, we demonstrate that this system can be used to characterize mixtures of the metabolites in both buffer and human plasma samples. Using three to six DCLs, we can distinguish between plasma samples with healthy and elevated levels of TMAO.

Automated summary

This study created a sensor array using an improved imprint-and-report fluorescent sensing method to detect four metabolites and successfully differentiated between healthy and high TMAO levels in plasma samples.