There’s no doubt about it: forensics is at the front line of the criminal justice system. It’s where analytical chemistry has the power to fight crimes. It’s fascinating! But what excites me is how quickly things change and the speed of innovation. Just think about...
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Nitrosamines: Where are we now?
Nitrosamines are a large group of N-nitroso compounds that share a common functional N-N=O group. They are produced by a chemical reaction between a nitrosating agent and a secondary or tertiary amine. Back in 2018, nitrosamines suddenly found themselves in the spotlight when they were unexpectedly detected in medications for high blood pressure. Since then, they have been found in several other prescription medications, including those for heartburn, acid reflux and diabetes, resulting in manufacturers recalling some common medications.
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.
Questions and answers to help improve your mycotoxin analysis
During a recent webinar I shared method details for mycotoxin analysis on the SCIEX 7500 system. In this blog i will share the Q&A for the submitted questions that we did not have chance to answer during the live webinar.
Excel macro for calculating averages or percent CVs from replicates in a 384 -well plate
This excel workbook is designed to be used with data copied from a SCIEX OS software Analytics module results file
Back to the new basics: Part 1 | Making the leap from GC-MS to LC-MS
Producing accurate results quickly in a demanding environment is no easy feat for analytical scientists. What’s more, many of us are constantly questioning ourselves—I certainly am—about whether we are employing the best technique for the analysis at hand.
It’s an overwhelming thought, considering the wide range of tools that are available to choose from, each of which offers varying levels of capacity, sensitivity, selectivity, specificity and cost. How do you meet the unique needs of your organization without breaking the bank? I get it, and I’m not here to convince you it’s easy. My aim is to guide you through the process to help you make the right decision for you.
How to optimize sample plating to run Echo MS system in ‘Fast acquisition mode’
The Echo MS system can acquire data extremely rapidly, at 1 second per sample. To achieve this speed, it should be ensured that there is adequate time between ejections for the analyte signal to return to baseline between ejections. Plating your samples such that you...
How do I check the quality of the Auto Retention Time Calibration used in my Extractor processing?
When using the Auto-Calibration option in Extractor, a set of retention time calibration peptides will be determined automatically from the library and used for RT calibration. To determine how the fit looks for the calibration on each datafile, follow these steps....
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.
MRM method transfer from a SCIEX Triple Quad or QTRAP 6500+ system to the SCIEX 7500 system
General recommendations when beginning method development Objective: The purpose of this document is to provide a quick reference for transferring MRM-based quantification methods from a SCIEX Triple Quad or QTRAP 6500+ system to a SCIEX 7500 system. While the best...
Short-chain PFAS compounds are on the rise- Craig’s PFAS Vodcast Cora Young
Read time: 2 minutes Short-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are increasing in the Canadian Arctic environment, with the most rapid increases occurring post-2000, according to a recent study in Geophysical Research Letters (April 2020). For example,...
Biologics Characterization: Intact and Subunit Mass Analysis
When All You Need Is Range – Mass Range, Dynamic Range, and the Complete Range Launching the best possible product in the shortest time possible is key for pharmaceutical companies like you. As you know, nearly every process throughout the biologics development cycle...
Now You Can Overcome Your Food and Environmental Testing Obstacles
How do you safeguard human health and protect your reputation through meeting stringent global food and environmental safety standards? When it comes to testing food and environmental samples, the quality of your testing data is vital to your business. You need fast...
Unraveling the Metabolome
Dr. David Wishart, Departments of Biological Sciences and Computing Science, University of AlbertaCanada’s TMIC is an internationally-recognized leader in metabolomics, providing tools and resources that are used by laboratories around the world. The center offers...
It’s Time to Stop Fraudulent Food Reaching the Consumer with LC-MS/MS
If you are reading this blog, it is likely that you are fully acquainted with food fraud, but let’s just take a moment to set the scene. Food fraud is by no means a new phenomenon and goes as far back as the middle ages, with the concept of tampering or...
Product Quality Assessments of Biotherapeutics Using LC-MS MAM
Why LC-MS MAM?The Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Multiple Attribute Methodology (LC-MS MAM) is a technique that is quickly gaining traction in the development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals. But what exactly is MAM? As researchers describe in a...
Ion Formation Control Is the Key to Increasing System Robustness
Traditional mass spectrometry ionization methods such as electronic spray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI), are popular methods for detecting the molecular weight of proteins, peptides, and other biologics. The reason being both...
Why You Need Mass Spec for Veterinary Drug Residue and Antibiotic Analysis
As hospitals struggle with increasingly hard-to-treat antimicrobial resistance (ARM) bacterial infections, related deaths now exceed 700,000 per year globally and are predicted to reach 10 million per year by 2050. There’s no denying that these statistics are both...
Simplify Your Life with a Streamlined Workflow for Multiple Attribute Methodology (MAM)
The effort to fully characterize and release a biotherapeutic to the market can be onerous. Typically, many tests are required to identify and monitor various attributes of the final product in order to ensure the safety and efficacy of the drug. These product quality...
Solving the Mystery of Forensic Quantitative Analysis
Why You Need Differential Mobility Spectrometry for Forensic Mass Spec Analysis Forensics depend on detection of even the smallest compounds to deliver results you can rely on. You need fast analysis methods that provide highly accurate data across a multitude of...
Calling all Bioanalysts: We’re Making Bioanalytical Selectivity Challenges History
High selectivity is a key component of successful quantitative bioanalysis. As a bioanalyst, we need consistently accurate and robust quantitation of small molecule therapeutics and metabolites. Challenged by complicated matrix interferences, high baseline signal, and...
The Latest and Greatest for Improving Lipidomic Analysis by Mass Spectrometry
Differential Mobility Separation (DMS) resolves multiple lipid classes within complex lipid matrices prior to MS analysis to enable more confident identification of lipid species and more accurate quantitation by MS/MS. Lipidomics research has progressed rapidly in...
Out with the “If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix it” Approach. In with Remote Monitoring.
Often by the time you’re aware of a problem, it’s too late, and disaster has already struck. You’re forced to pick up the pieces—downtime, reduced productivity and lost data. When your PC goes down, IT comes to the rescue. That’s a reactive approach. In many cases, IT...
Increase your Lab’s ROI with Remote Monitoring Service for SCIEX LC-MS Systems
Like most organizations, your lab is likely thinking about ways to reduce costs and maximize profits.If so, keep in mind that no matter your area of research, sample volume or locations, remote monitoring services can make a difference in yearly maintenance...
SWATH Acquisition: A Step Closer to Unravelling the Opioid Puzzle
Drug overdose has become one of the leading causes of death of Americans under 50. If that’s not bad enough, let’s put this into perspective. America makes up only 4% of the world population. In 2015, it recorded 52,400 drug-related deaths, which is about 27% of the...
Greater uptime equals higher productivity
In the old days, if you wanted to monitor your lab’s data, you would either remain by your instrument as long as it took to complete the sample run or dial-in via a telephone modem. Neither option, however, offered much in the way of enhancing productivity. Today’s...
Simplifying Polar Pesticides Within a Single Analysis
Glyphosate is a polar pesticide widely used as a garden herbicide. It is an ingredient in the world’s bestselling weed killer, which farmers consider one of their best solutions to their super weed problems. However, the chemical has become one of the most...
5 Applications That Benefit from a New Dimension in Selectivity
Mass spectrometry can provide exceptional sensitivity, selectivity, resolution, throughput, and mass accuracy, but certain applications demand additional levels of selectivity. This is where differential ion mobility technology comes in. It delivers highly-selective,...
Screening Food for Allergens Using LC-MS/MS Analysis
Browse the shelves of any grocery store, and you may get a false sense of security when it comes to ingredient lists. As much as consumers want to trust labels, the truth is, food products could contain mislabelled ingredients, such that they trigger an allergic reaction with serious detrimental effects including discomfort, pain sickness and in some instances, death. Manufacturers, however, do not want to risk their reputation and consumer safety over a false label. As such, there must be some sort of verification to support such an action
4 Reasons Why Your Lab Needs Remote Monitoring
You know the drill, lab managers are always seeking new solutions to keep their labs running at peak performance and instrument or system disruptions can be detrimental. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a way to connect to your lab from anywhere securely and to stay ahead of potential instrument problems? By using remote monitoring, labs are now able to respond to issues quickly and efficiently, productively reducing downtime.
Testing for a Variety of Bath Salts is a Necessity for Forensic Labs
To date, when it comes to testing urine or oral fluids in the workplace not all psychoactive substances can be detected due to evolving substitutions. As legislation changes, so too do chemical formulations. Therefore researchers, like the authors of the following publication, A Validated Method for the Detection of 32 Bath Salts in Oral Fluids, published by Oxford Academic, analyze compounds using the best available methods so they can cast a wider net.