ORIGINAL PAPER Plasma fingerprinting with GC-MS in acute coronary syndrome M. Vallejo & A. García & J. Tuñón & D. García-Martínez & S. Angulo & J.L. Martin-Ventura & L. M. Blanco-Colio & P. Almeida & J. Egido & C. Barbas Received: 26 October 2008 / Revised: 23 December 2008 / Accepted: 8 January 2009 / Published online: 28 January 2009 # Springer-Verlag 2009 Abstract New biomarkers of cardiovascular disease are needed to augment the information obtained from traditional indicators and to illuminate disease mechanisms. One of the approaches used in metabolomics/metabonomics for that purpose is metabolic fingerprinting aiming to profile large numbers of chemically diverse metabolites in an essentially nonselective way. In this study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was employed to evaluate the major metabolic changes in low molecular weight plasma metabolites of patients with acute coronary syndrome (n =9) and with stable atherosclerosis (n =10) vs healthy subjects without signifi- cant differences in age and sex (n =10). Reproducible differences between cases and controls were obtained with pattern recognition techniques, and metabolites accounting for higher weight in the classification have been identified through their mass spectra. On this basis, it seems inherently plausible that even a simple metabolite profile might be able to offer improved clinical diagnosis and prognosis, but in addition, specific markers are being identified. Keywords Acute coronary syndrome . Atherosclerosis . Metabonomics . Metabolomics . Pattern recognition . Separation techniques . Stroke Introduction Despite considerable advances in the treatment of athero- thrombosis, it remains the leading cause of death in developed countries. The assessment of classic cardiovas- cular risk factors—including high blood pressure, dyslipi- demia, diabetes, and smoking—has a central role in disease prevention. However, the presence of these risk factors is not enough to predict accurately what persons are at risk of suffering an acute ischemic event, which is caused by the occlusion of an artery due to the formation of a thrombus on the atherosclerotic plaques. Identifying individuals at risk of developing these events is critical in order to direct available therapeutic resources efficiently. Thus, complementary approaches are needed to improve our ability to predict the appearance of these events. The possibility that abnormal plasma levels of one or more molecules may predict the appearance of new vascular events has gained acceptance in the last years. However, no biomarker has shown consistent results to be used in the clinical practice [1, 2]. Application of large-scale technologies to the study of cardiovascular diseases has resulted in outstanding advances in the last years. These include improvements in our understanding of molecular mechanisms of pathophysiological processes, identification of diagnostic/ prognostic biomarkers for cardiovascular disease, and identification of novel therapeutic targets [3]. In this respect, Anal Bioanal Chem (2009) 394:1517–1524 DOI 10.1007/s00216-009-2610-6 DO02610; No of Pages M. Vallejo : A. García : D. García-Martínez : S. Angulo : C. Barbas (*) Pharmacy Faculty, San Pablo-CEU University Madrid, Campus Montepríncipe, Boadilla del Monte, 28668 Madrid, Spain e-mail: cbarbas@ceu.es J. Tuñón : P. Almeida Cardiology Service, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain J. Martin-Ventura : L. M. Blanco-Colio : J. Egido Vascular Research Laboratory, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain J. Tuñón : J. Martin-Ventura : L. M. Blanco-Colio : J. Egido Autónoma University, Madrid, Spain