Metabolism refers to the set of life-sustaining chemical transformations within living organisms. It includes the breakdown of nutrients and organic matter to harvest energy through cellular respiration as well as using energy to construct cellular components. Metabolic profiling studies the low-molecular weight metabolites and intermediates that reflect genetic and physiological changes in organisms. Each cell and tissue has a unique metabolic fingerprint that can provide specialized or generalized physiological information depending on the biofluid studied, such as urine or plasma. Metabolic engineering aims to optimize genetic and regulatory processes in cells to increase production of desired substances.