Laboratories performing food and environmental testing, clinical research, forensic toxicology, pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical measurements and other applied analyses can now benefit from the performance of high-resolution accurate-mass (HRAM) Orbitrap mass spectrometry using a new instrument designed for cost-per-sample-sensitive workflows.
The new Thermo Scientific Q Exactive Focus LC-MS/MS was exhibited for the first time at Pittcon 2015. It is designed to make the qualitative and quantitative power of Orbitrap-based instruments available to customers who use quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometry or comparable mid-tier technologies.
"Many of our customers at applied and small-scale research labs have been telling us they want the combined screening and quantitation capabilities of hybrid mass spectrometry in their labs, where cost per sample and time-to-results really matter," said Ken Miller from Thermo Fisher Scientific. "We are pleased to announce that Orbitrap technology has now evolved into the Q Exactive Focus system for this purpose."
The Q Exactive Focus benchtop LC-MS/MS combines high-performance quadrupole precursor ion selection with an HRAM Orbitrap mass analyser, engineered to provide excellent mass accuracy, sensitivity and fast polarity switching. Extensive testing in company laboratories have shown this instrument to selectively and accurately quantify and confirm analytes with comparable sensitivity to triple quadrupole instruments.
The Q Exactive Focus is designed to deliver up to 70,000 resolution at m/z 200, and scan speed up to 12 Hz. Sub ppm mass accuracy has been achieved routinely in company and early access user laboratories. The instrument is designed for quantitation experiments, with capabilities that include selected ion monitoring (SIM), parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) and data-independent acquisition (DIA).
Full scan confirmation mode and PRM are designed for targeted screening combined with reproducible quantitation results. DIA is intended to provide qualitative coverage for screening unknowns with supporting quantitative data for many of the unknowns identified.
