INSTRUMENTATION | Mass Spectrometry Core

Thermo Orbitrap Exploris 120 LC-MS/MS system

Liquid Chromatography-High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) is a HRMS platform that combines precise mass accuracy with advanced liquid chromatography (LC). It is designed for comprehensive analysis of complex samples, offering high sensitivity and resolution for identifying and quantifying metabolites, lipids, and proteins. Ideal for untargeted and targeted metabolomics, isotope analysis, and biomarker discovery, the system excels in applications such as metabolic profiling, pharmacokinetics, and proteomics. With its robust performance and advanced software, the Orbitrap Exploris 120 delivers reliable and detailed data for a wide range of scientific studies.

1. Untargeted Metabolomics: Untargeted metabolomics is a comprehensive approach used to analyze and profile a set of metabolites present in a biological sample without pre-selecting specific metabolites of interest.
2. Targeted Metabolomics and Isotope Analysis: This HRMS can be used in metabolomics studies that incorporate isotopic labeling (e.g., 13C, 15N) to track metabolic flux, providing insights into active metabolic pathways.
3. Large Scale Lipidomics: Lipidomics, a specialized branch of metabolomics, focuses on mapping and quantifying lipid species within cells or tissues to identify biomarkers and gain insights into cellular metabolism.

Waters XEVO-TQ (Triple quadrupole) UPLC-MS/MS system

Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is a high-performance platform combining Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) with Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry (MS/MS) for precise quantification and identification of small molecules. It excels in targeted analysis, offering exceptional sensitivity for detecting trace compounds and accurate quantification using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). Widely used in bioanalysis, metabolomics, and environmental studies, the XEVO-TQ system provides reliable, high-throughput results for applications such as drug metabolism, lipidomics, and polar metabolite analysis. Its advanced software ensures efficient data handling and method development, making it ideal for both routine and complex analyses.

1. Small Molecule Identification: The XEVO-TQ system excels in detecting small molecules, such as organic acids, amino acids, nucleotides, and vitamins.
2. Targeted Lipids and Hexosylceramides Analysis: This platform is also highly suitable for targeted lipidomics, where it can analyze complex lipid species such as phospholipids, triglycerides, and sphingolipids.
3. Polar Metabolites and TCA Cycle Analysis: Polar metabolites such as sugars, glycolytic intermediates, and amino acids can be efficiently separated by UPLC and detected with high sensitivity in the system.
4. Targeted Drug Quantification Using Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM): The XEVO-TQ excels in targeted quantification of specific molecules with high sensitivity and selectivity, making it ideal for precisely quantifying known compounds in complex matrices. Utilizes MRM for high-precision quantification of compounds, enabling robust and reproducible detection even in low concentrations of metabolites and pharmacological compounds.

Thermo ISQ7610 GC-MS system

Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) is a high-performance platform that can be used to identify and quantify small molecular metabolites in samples such as human body fluids, food, and environmental samples. The ISQ7610 GC-MS system is commonly used in chemical research and bioanalysis for the detection and quantification of small molecules. Its high sensitivity, precision, and advanced software for automated compound identification and quantification ensure reliable and reproducible results across a broad spectrum of analytical applications.

1. Pharmacometabolomics: GC-MS has a strong quantification capability for analyzing drugs and drug metabolites. This allows the identification of drug efficacy biomarkers and the study of drug response phenotypes using blood, tissue, and urine samples.
2. Polar and non-polar metabolism quantification: GC-MS is capable of analyzing a wide range of sample types, from gases and liquids to tissue extracts, expanding its use from gasotransmitter and lipid metabolism research.
3. Automated Compound Identification: Complemented by database annotations using large spectral libraries and validated, standardized standard operating procedures, GC-MS can identify and semi-quantify over 200 compounds per a study in human body fluids (e.g., plasma, urine, or stool) samples.
4. Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Semi-Volatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs): GC-MS is widely used to detect pollutants and their metabolites in biospecimens or environmental samples. For example, Contents of Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes (BTEX), formaldehyde, methanol, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, phenols, phthalates, and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) can be detected in biospecimens or environmental samples.

Thermo Vanquish HPLC system

Thermo Vanquish High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) system is an advanced platform for High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), a powerful analytical method used to separate, identify, and quantify compounds within complex mixtures. It is widely applied across various scientific fields, including environmental analysis, food safety, biochemical research, and metabolomics, where precision and accuracy are critical. The system’s high sensitivity and resolution enable the detailed analysis of small molecules, peptides, and biomolecules, making it a versatile tool for both routine and complex analyses. With its ability to handle diverse sample types and complex matrices, the Vanquish HPLC system is ideal for bioanalysis, where it can monitor metabolites, assess environmental contaminants, and track metabolic pathways. Its robust automation, high throughput, and data processing capabilities make it indispensable for large-scale research projects. Additionally, it excels in long-term studies requiring reproducibility, such as monitoring the biochemical effects of substances, environmental exposure assessments, and food quality control. The Thermo Vanquish HPLC system is designed to deliver reliable results across various applications, ensuring accuracy and efficiency in high-performance analytical workflows.

1. Amino Acid and Neurotransmitter Analysis: The HPLC-UV system provides stable and robust metabolite analysis for amino acid (20 analytes) and major neurotransmitter (4 analytes) quantification from biospecimens.
2. Organic Acid and Short-chain Fatty Acid Metabolomics: HPLC-UV systems are suitable for detecting many metabolites, including those with aromatic moieties, conjugated systems, and chromophores. They have also been used to detect organic acids such as lactic and pyruvic acids.
3. Chirality Monitoring: Chirality is one of the most important phenomena in living organisms and has attracted long-term interest in medical and pharmacological science. Drugs used to treat disease states often have stereoisomers that show differential stereoselectivity, which influences their pharmacokinetics and therapeutic effects.
4. Bioanalysis of pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD).: Measure concentrations of drugs and their metabolites in biological fluids (e.g., blood, urine, saliva) to study their PK and PD.
5. Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM): Monitor drug levels in patients undergoing addiction treatment to ensure therapeutic efficacy and avoid toxicity.

The Thermo Scientific™ Orbitrap Exploris™ 480 Mass Spectrometer is a quadrupole-Orbitrap™ mass spectrometer which provides high-resolution, accurate-mass (HRAM) data, generating incredibly high resolution measurements of up to 480,000 FWHM at m/z 200.  Due to its HRAM capabilities, it can be used for low-abundance, high complexity samples at sub-ppb concentrations and /or sub-ppm mass differences. With the option to extend the mass range up to m/z 8000, it facilitates our in-depth characterization needs from intact, top and middle-down through to peptide mapping.

In addition, it is combined with Thermo Scientific™ UltiMate™ 3000 RSLCnano System and HPG-3200RS PUMP, which has a wide flow-pressure footprint with nano-, capillary-, micro-, and regular-flow options.

The LCQ-DECA XP is an ion-trap mass spectrometer with a dedicated Thermo HPLC system for highly selective and sensitive detection of metabolites and peptides. The instrument’s ion trap mass analyzer is particularly useful in cases where the molecular mass of the analyte is completely unknown. While enabling MSn capabilities, the ion trap provides structural information, allowing the analyst to “Top-down” the structure of the molecule. It is coupled to a Michrom Paradigm MG4 multidimensional LC system (Thermo) with integrated auto sampler. Finally, data dependent scanning allows the user to identify protein/peptide modifications.

The Q-TOF MICRO is a quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometer for MS/MS-based sequencing of peptides with a mass resolving power of ~8,000FWHM. The Q-TOF is interfaced to a Waters CapLC HPLC system with integrated auto sampler for automated unattended nLC-MS/MS. The Q-TOF mass analyzer is particularly useful for the identification of post-translational modification.

The SYNAPT HDMS is capable of operating in both quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) and ion mobility mode and is primarily used for unbiased detection of peptides and metabolites for proteomics and metabolomics applications, respectively. A nanoAcquity UPLC system with 2D technology is directly interfaced to nanospray ionization source of SYNAPT HDMS for proteomics applications. An Acquity UPLC system is interfaced to ESI/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source for metabolomics applications.  An atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) source is also available for the Synapt HDMS. 

The XEVO TQ is a tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer with a dedicated acquity UPLC system for highly selective and sensitive detection of metabolites and peptides. Furthermore, ScanWave technology of Xevo TQ provides enhanced spectral LC/MS/MS data acquisition capabilities.