Novel Separations and Ionisation Technologies Brought to High Resolution Mass Spectrometry at ASMS

Waters Corporation (USA) at the 63rd conference of the Society of Mass Spectrometry announced the introduction of new technologies and innovations for mass spectrometry, intended to give laboratories greater levels of detail for every analysis.

The introductions include the new Waters Vion IMS QTof Mass Spectrometer, a new bench-top tandem mass spectrometer featuring ion mobility and REIMS Research System with iKnife Sampling, combining direct-from-sample ionisation with high-performance time-of-flight (ToF) mass spectrometry.

Waters also expanded its family of solid phase extraction products with the first-of-its-kind Oasis PRiME HLB and added to its portfolio of protein separation columns with the ACQUITY UPLC Glycoprotein BEH Amide Column for glycan analysis.    

Combining the benefits of high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry and ion mobility separation in a bench top instrument, the Waters Vion IMS QTof Mass Spectrometer brings clarity and confidence to routine analyses. Ion mobility removes spectral interferences and generates collision cross-section (CCS) values for every ion, giving scientists more information than they can get from traditional LC-MS experiments. Waters intends to commence shipments of the Vion IMS QTof Mass Spectrometer in the second half of this year. 

“More than a decade of experience in ion mobility has gone into the design of our Vion IMS QTof instrument. For scientists involved in sample screening, metabolite identification, or classical ‘omics experiments, their ability to detect and identify all sample analytes in single analysis at the bench has reached a new level,” said Gary Harland, Director, Mass Spectrometry Product Management, Waters Division. “Regardless of how many analytes there are in a sample, and regardless of the concentrations which they are present in, Vion IMS QTof empowers laboratories to respond better to analytical challenges and succeed in meeting their scientific and business objectives.”

As routine analyses involve increasingly complex samples, scientists often rely on high-resolution mass spectrometry. However, increasing mass resolution alone does not always lead to better answers. By separating ions from one another based on their shape, mass and charge, ion mobility provides an additional dimension of separation. The selectivity of ion mobility refines spectra and allows the instrument to discriminate sample ions from chromatographically co-eluting compounds and background interferences - bringing clarity to every spectrum, and enabling the confident characterisation of compounds.

The UNIFI Scientific Information System, Version 1.8, is a new release of the software with features intended to enhance laboratory productivity. Today's announcement coincides with the introduction of the Vion IMS QTof Mass Spectrometer which is the first Waters mass spectrometer to be fully supported on UNIFI.

New features of this release of UNIFI software include: Support of  the Vion IMS QTof MS System;  native atmospheric pressure gas chromatography (APGC) control, time-of-flight (Tof) multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) support, support of collision cross section (CCS) data, and Tof quantitative and qualitative workflows providing a comprehensive, single software solution.

Combining direct-from-sample ionization with high performance time-of-flight mass spectrometry and powerful, intuitive analytics, the Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry (REIMS) Research System with iKnife Sampling System eliminates the need for sample preparation and chromatographic separation, providing food, microbiology and tissue researchers with near-instantaneous data acquisition.

Using Waters REIMS Research System with iKnife Sampling, researchers can quickly and easily differentiate samples from one another and confidently identify the differentiating features, allowing greater insight into the chemical and biological systems under investigation. In REIMS, direct, rapid heating of the samples leads to the formation of vapor that is rich in sample-specific chemical information. The vapor is taken directly into the mass spectrometer (Xevo G2-XS QTof or SYNAPT G2-Si HDMS) where the molecules are analyzed by time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

“The new system will deliver REIMS technology into the hands of many more scientists working in important areas such as research into food fraud and adulteration, where we anticipate its impact could be game-changing”, said Brian Smith, Vice President of Mass Spectrometry Operations at Waters.

The Oasis PRiME HLB, a first-of-its-kind, next-generation solid phase extraction (SPE) product that provides cleaner samples in less time and with less effort for LC and LC-MS analyses. Oasis PRiME HLB cartridges and multiwell plates simplify and speed up extraction protocols to ensure consistent, reproducible LC and LC-MS results. Laboratories can now process samples up to 40% faster and deliver samples that are up to 70% cleaner with fewer LC-MS matrix effects than samples prepared using other extraction techniques. Oasis PRiME HLB Sorbent is available immediately worldwide.

“Whether doing bioanalysis, food analysis or forensic toxicological screening by LC and LC-MS, few things are more important to getting quality analytical results than a clean sample. That is why today’s scientists need three things from a sample preparation protocol – simplicity, speed, and cleaner eluates,” said Mike Yelle, Vice President, Consumables Business Unit, Waters Division. “For scientists working with samples containing proteins, fats or lipids, Oasis PRiME HLB fulfills all three requirements and is now the gold standard for solid phase extraction.”

The new ACQUITY UPLC Glycoprotein BEH Amide 300Å 1.7-µm Column enables biopharmaceutical companies to better understand where glycan molecules are located within the therapeutic proteins they are developing. Identifying the precise location of glycans within a protein structure is essential to delivering safe and effective biotherapeutic proteins.

The novel, patent-pending ACQUITY UPLC BEH Amide technology, assists scientists in obtaining reproducible glycan-related chromatographic and mass spec information at the intact protein, fragment, or peptide levels. Designed to be used with Waters ACQUITY UPLC systems, this new glycoprotein analysis column provides unprecedented resolution using MS-compatible HILIC separations. Laboratories can now resolve different glycoproteins and glycopeptides, determine where both N-linked and O-linked glycans are located within the protein, as well as better understand glycan modifications and patterns. Combining these capabilities with mass spectrometric analysis provides far greater information about glycoprotein structure than has been previously available.

“Waters has been leading the way in innovative solutions for glycan analysis to help our biopharmaceutical customers solve the challenges they face with their traditional glycan workflows. The new ACQUITY UPLC Glycoprotein BEH Amide Column, joins a family of market leading disruptive technologies, including our Biopharmaceutical Platform Solution with UNIFI for characterisation, and our most recent GlycoWorks RapiFluor-MS N-Glycan sample preparation kits,” said Mike Yelle, Vice President of Waters’ Consumable Business Unit.