Metallomics in environmental and health related research: Current status and perspectives

Metals and metalloids play distinct roles in human health, either beneficial or toxic, depending on their concentrations and species. There is an increasing interest in metals uptake, trafficking, function, and exertion in microorganisms to maintain and advance human health. Metallomics, an emerging research area, focuses on elucidation of metals/metalloids location, distribution, speciation, and behavior in living organisms. This paper briefly summarized the recent progress on the methodology development of metallomics including various techniques, i.e. multiple dimensional liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LC-ICPMS), gel electrophoresis-laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GE-LA-ICPMS), synchrotron X-ray fluorescent spectroscopy (XFS), and the applications of metallomics in environmental and health care.