Table 2.

Technical characteristics of shotgun lipidomics at different level of measurements.

Scope of Analysis	MS	Identification	Quantification	Derivatization	Fine structure characterization	Major technology trends
Macro/Organ (Of or above 1 mm)	ESI MALDI Ambient MS	>1000 species; > 45 lipid classes	Absolute quantification	No limitation	***** Limited quantitative methods	Automated high-throughput process
Micro/Tissue(20–200 μm)	ESI MALDI Ambient MS	<1000 species; Major species of SL, GPL, GL and NEFA	Relative quantification; Limited Absolute quantification	Limited choices	**	Efficient extraction and derivatization methods
Single-cell/Subcellular(<10 μm;Below mean cell size)	ESI MALDI SIMS LAESI LESA	<100 species; High abundant species of SL, GPL, GL and NEFA	Relative quantification	Rare	*	Improvement of ionization efficiency