Keywords: 
• lipidomics /
• DDA /
• DIA /
• UPLC-QTOF MS /
• ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Abstract: Lipid is a group of key components in biological processes and comprises diverse classes of molecules with critical functions in cellular energy storage, structure and signaling. It has been reported that environmental pollutants could interfere with the normal circulation and metabolism of biochemical molecular, leading to a disorder of lipid metabolism in organisms. In this study, a high throughput analytical method for lipid metabolites was developed based on UPLC-QTOF MS (ultra-high performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry) in the data-independent acquisition mode (DIA). The method was applied for analysis of lipid metabolites in human blood samples from a general population. 2 598 signals were detected and 1 780 lipid molecules were identified by the method. Of all the detected lipid metabolites, glycerol phospholipid is the predominant component (37%), followed by fatty acids (23%), sterol lipids (13%), glycerol lipids (10%), sphingolipids (9.0%), pregnenolone lipids (4.8%). The high throughput method established in this study provided an analytical technology for exploring the toxicology pathways of environmental pollutants, which could cause disorder of lipid metabolism to organisms.