The journey to mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) adoption from immunoassay can be complicated, but certainly rewarding. While immunoassay has been considered the default methodology for decades, they can be susceptible to interferences and cross-reactivity, especially for...
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6 Signs it’s time for a new vendor
A lab’s success depends on many factors from instrument quality to efficient operations, including being partnered with the right vendor. A vendor is more than just a supplier. They should provide you with a high-level quality of support in maximizing the lifespan and performance of your systems, reducing downtime, enhancing ROI and more. How do you know if you’re partnered with the right one? Here are six signs it might be time to find someone new.
Selecting an LC-MS system for quantitation of pharmaceutical drug development
We understand you are busy, needing to prioritize running instruments, reporting results and managing your laboratory to meet deadlines. We created a solution guide to explain how SCIEX systems fit in the drug development pipeline to save you time evaluating options.
Celebrating customer experience: Insights from SCIEX leaders
Introduction Customer Experience Day (CX Day) is a special occasion for SCIEX, celebrated every first Tuesday in October. It’s a day dedicated to recognizing the incredible value of our customers and the relentless dedication of our associates who strive to make...
PFAS analysis in food: a robustness study in sensitivity and stability
The combination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) testing, trace-level regulatory requirements and complex MS applications can be intimidating. In a recent webinar, now available on demand, SCIEX PFAS expert Craig Butt demonstrated how the new SCIEX 7500+ system can help make PFAS testing easier.
Your success and voice go a long way!
At the heart of everything we do is ensuring that your workflows and team are empowered to achieve optimal results with your SCIEX instruments, software, consumables, and services. Every interaction with SCIEX is designed to support your success through the dedication...
LC-MS system replacement: Are you ready?
Meeting deadlines in a bioanalysis laboratory can be a big challenge. Older, less sensitive and less reliable LC-MS systems make it even more difficult. Even the disruption caused by the installation and validation can be disconcerting and delay decisions. Does this sound familiar?
Understanding technical debt: the hidden cost of ignoring problems
In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, businesses heavily rely on software and IT systems to drive their operations. However, the pursuit of efficiency and speed often leads to the accumulation of what is known as technical debt. Technical debt refers to the implied cost incurred when businesses choose quick but limited solutions over better approaches that may take more time to implement. This blog post will delve into the concept of technical debt, its implications for businesses and how to avoid falling victim to its detrimental effects.
Optimized rolling collision energy curves for IDA and SWATH DIA for peptides
During data dependent acquisition (DDA or IDA) or SWATH acquisition, the collision energy can be automatically adjusted according to the mass/charge and charge of the peptide. This dependency has been well characterized on our QTOF systems. By selecting rolling...
Rescheduling a Schedule I substance, and the Delta-8 controversy
Did you know that in the US, drugs and other chemicals are classified into 5 distinct categories depending on the drug’s acceptable medical use and its potential for abuse or dependency? Drugs federally classified as Schedule I substances by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are considered to have the highest potential for abuse and for creating severe psychological and/or physical dependence. In addition to heroin, LSD and MDMA (ecstasy), cannabis is classified as a Schedule I substance in the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, which means it has no approved medical usage.
sMRM Pro Builder template tutorial
The sMRM Pro Builder template is an Excel-based tool that can help you implement large panels of analytes in your lab. The Excel sheet will take your preliminary experimental results and compute retention times, retention time window widths and dwell time weighting to optimize your targeted assay.
Vitamin D Analysis Made Simple
Last month, Dr. Phil Levy, a clinician, professor, and researcher at Wayne State University, was invited to SCIEX to lecture on ‘Vitamin D Measurement and Implications for Patient Care.’ His message was simple and very clear: Vitamin D testing is here to stay!
What does World Food Day Mean to Food Scientists?
Did you know that the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), celebrates its founding each year on October 16 with World Food Day? You can explore their theme and commitment to ending hunger by 2030 here. As part of their, “Ten Facts You Need to Know about Hunger,” perhaps you may find it interesting that, “The world will need to grow 60 percent more food by 2050 to feed the growing population.”
Transform the Analytical Power of Your SCIEX Mass Spec with SelexION Technology
If you are working with complex assays that demand exceptionally selective quantitative and qualitative performance, sometimes even the most powerful LC-MS/MS technology can’t always cut it alone.
Fipronil Contamination in Eggs Update
Since my last blog, there has been an ongoing investigation into the widespread impact of contaminated egg products. According to The Grocer, 26 more egg foods were pulled from shelves in the fipronil scandal, bringing the total number to 69 products....
5 Ways That SelexION Technology Will Address Your Biggest Analytical Challenges
If you are a scientist working with complex assays, finding a way to significantly improve selectivity of detection could solve some of your biggest analytical headaches. Are we right? If so, then you are in the right place. If you are confronted with assay...
Why is Metabolomics Important and How is it Enabling Precision Medicine?
Why is metabolomics important?
Metabolomics is the large-scale study of metabolites in biofluids, tissue extracts, or organisms. Metabolites are small (<1000 Da), biologically active molecules such as glucose, cholesterol, creatinine, hormones, lipids, and more.
Training Program for Today’s Food and Beverage Testing Lab
Is your lab looking to acquire methods for food testing? What about getting better acquainted on the SCIEX Triple Quad™ or QTRAP® mass spectrometers to learn quantitation better? The following SCIEXUniversity Success Program training courses not only cover food and beverage quantitation but offer application training on topics such as meat speciation testing and pesticide analysis. Especially important considering the latest Fipronil contamination in eggs.I want to sign up for courses >
Phthalates Are Out, Accurate Detection Using LC-MS/MS Technology Is In
Whether you like it or not, the plastics industry is a growing market. According to an Allied Market Research report, it was valued at $15,179 million in 2015 and is projected to reach $18,538 million by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 2.9% from 2016 to 20221. Additionally, according to the report, in 2015, phthalates type held two-thirds of the global market in 2015. An important statistic since the use of various phthalates is restricted in many countries because of health concerns2.
Forensics Made Easy
Mass spectrometry techniques are now commonplace for high throughput quantitation and screening, but also for research and discovery for food safety, forensics, environmental testing, and a host of other applications. The demands of these settings are different from traditional research, requiring MS systems which combine robust and reliable operation with straightforward day-to-day processing. The SCIEX X500R QTOF System has been developed specifically to meet these needs and is now helping to streamline the workflow of Zurich’s Institute of Forensic Medicine.
3 Workflows Designed to Accelerate Your Biologics Characterization
Biopharmaceutical development is booming and now an integral part of many pharmaceutical company pipelines. While these emerging biologics present exciting opportunities for the industry, their sophistication is challenging the limits of characterization at all stages of discovery and development.
Making Your Vitamin D Testing Dreams Come True
If you work in clinical diagnostics, you can probably confirm that most clinical laboratories have seen a 5 to 6-fold increase in 25-hydroxyvitamin D testing over the past decade, and volume is growing. Furthermore, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently reported Vitamin D as one of the top five laboratory assays reimbursed by Medicare, accounting for 8.7 million laboratory tests and $337 million in reimbursement dollars.
The Science Behind SelexION Differential Mobility Spectrometry Technology
Scientists and analysts across all fields of testing and research are increasingly challenged by complex samples requiring advanced analytical selectivity. And where LC-MS/MS sensitivity alone is not enough to meet the demands of modern day quantitative performance, Differential Ion Mobility Spectrometry (DMS) has proven to be a valuable addition.
Elimination of Interference using the SelexION Differential Mobility System for the Quantitation of Rituximab in a Dual Surrogate Peptide Approach
The quantitation of proteins using the surrogate peptide approach can complicate nominal mass Triple Quadrupole MRM measurements due to co-extracted interference when using non-selective extraction techniques such as pellet digestion. High resolution coupled with accurate mass filtering can mitigate such interference, as reported previously for the determination of rituximab using the TripleTOF 6600 (Protein Quant Approaches). However, an additional level of selectivity can often be achieved on nominal mass systems using the orthogonal gas-phase separation approach offered by the SelexION+® Differential Mobility System technology (DMS). Interfaced between the sampling orifice and ion source, the DMS separates ions based upon differences in their migration rates under alternating low and high field waveform amplitudes (Figure 1). Ion clustering in low fields and declustering in high fields amplifies the distinction in mobility of an ion, resulting in improved resolution from interfering species of differing molecular cross-section.1-4
Enhancing In Vitro ADME Screening
LC-MS technology is helping contract research organization Cyprotex Discovery Ltd. perform bioanalysis of small molecules, peptides, and other pharmaceuticals, enabling quantification to be performed in complex matrices during in vitro ADME studies.
Host Cell Protein Analysis – Mass Spec’s Edge Over ELISA
The number of protein based drugs coming onto the market is at an all-time high, particularly those produced with a host cell system. With host cells come their own proteins. These host cell proteins (HCPs) constitute a major part of process-related impurities and can adversely affect drug safety, so it is critical that they are identified and quantified accurately.
Fipronil Tainted Eggs Detected in Several European Countries
News agencies all over the world are reporting a new food contamination issue regarding eggs which have been found to contain residues of Fipronil. According to Nieuwsuur, a Dutch news, and current affairs program, “The Fipronil scandal is a huge blow to the poultry sector. Millions of eggs are destroyed and 138 companies remain tentatively closed. But supermarkets also face great damage. In recent days all contaminated eggs have been taken out of the shelves.” CBS news has reported that contaminated eggs have been discovered in Belgium and in the Netherlands with other European countries now on alert.
In Search of the Unknown
The production of high-quality drinking water entails rigorous treatment and testing procedures. For water suppliers’ laboratories, such as the Zweckverband Landeswasserversorgung in Germany, one of the major challenges is the identification of trace levels of organic substances, which can be achieved with the help of mass spectrometry.
A Fleet of Analyzers Keeps Work Flowing
An Interview with Timothy Sangster, Head of Bioanalysis and Immunology, Charles River Laboratories, Edinburgh
Designed Specifically for Your Clinical Lab—Mass Spec Made Simple
Welcome to the first post in our clinical diagnostic blog series. Our ambition is to become your single destination for everything mass spec in the clinical diagnostic lab. To make this blog as useful as possible for you, we invite you to tell us what topics you would like us to cover. Please comment on this blog below and let us know what you’d like to hear!
Is Your Lab Prepared for Testing? The Global Supplement Market is Growing
Don’t judge a nutritional supplement by its label, as often, government monitoring of ingredients begins after the product enters the consumer market1. Meanwhile, there may be additional additives not mentioned on the label as they are used to address supplement side effects. Such is the case in the United States where even though federal law requires supplements to carry a dietary supplement label or a substitutional term, monitoring begins once a supplement is on the market. In China meanwhile, the China Food and Drug Administration’s (CFDA) health product potential illegal additives list, clearly stipulates monitoring processes for additives in six different types of nutritional supplements including weight loss, blood sugar reduction, blood pressure reduction, anti-fatigue, sleep improvement and immune strengthening functions.Read Tech Note >