M-SCAN — 400 lipid mediators
the definitive inflammation panel

M-SCAN (Mediator Scan) is HMT's targeted lipid mediator panel — quantifying 400 bioactive oxylipins and lipid mediators by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). It is the most comprehensive commercially available panel for the lipidomic study of inflammation, immune activation, and resolution biology.

The panel covers the full eicosanoid network — including prostaglandins, thromboxanes, leukotrienes, lipoxins, resolvins, protectins, and maresins — as well as endocannabinoids, lysophospholipids, and other bioactive fatty acid derivatives. Each analyte is quantified against stable isotope-labelled internal standards for rigorous absolute quantitation.

The 400-analyte panel spans the major classes of bioactive lipid mediators:

Eicosanoids: Prostaglandins (PGE2, PGD2, PGF2α, PGI2), thromboxanes (TXA2, TXB2), and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs) — the classical arachidonic acid cascade products central to inflammation, pain, fever, and vascular biology.

Leukotrienes & Lipoxins: The 5-lipoxygenase pathway products including LTB4, LTC4, LTD4, LTE4, and lipoxins — key mediators of neutrophil chemotaxis and the transition from pro- to anti-inflammatory signalling.

Specialised Pro-resolving Mediators (SPMs): Resolvins (E-series and D-series), protectins, and maresins — the endogenous mediators of inflammation resolution derived from omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. SPMs are increasingly recognised as therapeutic targets in chronic inflammation, neurodegeneration, and metabolic disease.

Endocannabinoids: Anandamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), and related N-acylethanolamines — mediators of pain, appetite, immune modulation, and neuroendocrine signalling.

Oxylipins & Others: Additional oxygenated fatty acid derivatives, lysophospholipids, and bioactive lipid species not covered by standard lipidomics platforms.

Lipid mediators are present at picomolar to nanomolar concentrations in biological matrices — several orders of magnitude below the major phospholipid and glyceride species that dominate untargeted lipidomics data. Untargeted platforms typically fail to detect or accurately quantify these low-abundance bioactives without dedicated enrichment and targeted acquisition.

M-SCAN uses multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) with stable isotope-labelled internal standards for each analyte class, achieving the sensitivity, specificity, and quantitative accuracy required for rigorous inflammation research and clinical biomarker studies.

Inflammation & immune biology: Characterise the full eicosanoid and SPM response in disease models, clinical cohorts, or drug intervention studies. M-SCAN is used extensively in rheumatology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, and infectious disease research.

Drug mechanism studies: Profile the effect of NSAIDs, corticosteroids, biologics, and experimental anti-inflammatory compounds on the lipid mediator network — identifying on-target and off-target pathway modulation.

Omega-3 / dietary intervention: Quantify SPM biosynthesis from EPA and DHA supplementation. M-SCAN is the reference platform for omega-3 mechanistic studies in humans and animal models.

Combination with OMEGA Scan: Pairing M-SCAN with OMEGA Scan provides complementary coverage of both the polar metabolome and the lipid mediator space — the most complete picture of systemic inflammatory biology available from a single CRO.

Every M-SCAN study includes: absolute concentration data for all 400 analytes with LOQ-flagged values, pathway-annotated heatmaps, PCA and volcano plot statistical analysis, and a biochemist interpretation report contextualising your lipid mediator profile within the known biology of your model or disease area. Follow-up discussion with an HMT scientist is standard.