We blinked and the last two years went in a flash. It seems like just yesterday, the Dicamba herbicide controversy hit the headlines in 2016 and the EPA set the regulations to expire in two years. Fast forward to today. Dicamba is an acid herbicide used to kill...
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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...
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?
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.
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...
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.
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...
Adapting a SCIEX high flow source for microflow LC
To set up a SCIEX high flow source for microflow LC (Turbo V ion source, DuoSpray source or IonDrive Turbo V ion source), first you must replace the wider bore electrodes with more narrow bore hybrid electrodes. Note with the OptiFlow Turbo V ion sources, there are...
Identifying the unknown PFAS profile in firefighting foams/AFFF
According to a recent study from Harvard University, the US EPA, and NIEHS, traditional targeted analysis techniques poorly characterize the PFAS composition of contemporary PFAS-based firefighting foams, know as aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF). Using the EPA 533 PFAS drinking water method for the analyte list, the researchers found that targeted mass spectrometry methods accounted for <1% of organic fluorine content. This is important because it demonstrates that targeted analysis methods miss nearly all the PFAS compounds in modern AFFF mixtures, thus underestimating the risk to human health and the environment.
sMRM Concurrency Calculator
This excel sheet allows you to quickly estimate the MRM concurrency and approximate dwell time for your Scheduled MRM Algorithm acquisition method. Paste your MRM method with retention times into the input tab then calculate the Excel workbook. Plots will update to...
The risky business of aflatoxins in milk
If you’re in the dairy or food testing business, you know the threat aflatoxins pose. Aflatoxins are a type of mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus parasiticus, aspergillus flavus , and rarely aspergillus nomius.1 These are likely the most extensively researched group of mycotoxins because of their adverse health effects.2 What’s more, they are widely found in a variety of crops, namely maize, tree nuts, and spices. Believed to be primarily caused by rising temperatures and humidity, these naturally occurring fungi grow on crops in the field, or during storage of feed and raw materials, where they can potentially produce toxins that enter the food chain.
Characterize and Monitor Host Cell Proteins (HCPs) Using SWATH Acquisition Technology
During drug development, the removal of impurities and purification of a final drug product is absolutely essential in order to ensure the safety and efficacy of a therapeutic drug. Of particular concern for biologics are impurities that can stem from host cell proteins. Because biologics are developed through cell culture and fermentation within a host cell, proteins from this host cell can be co-purified with the final biologic. These host cell proteins or HCPs can cause the final product to have undesired side-effects such as eliciting an immune response in patients taking the drug, or affecting the drug’s stability or efficacy. As a result, regulating agencies require drug companies to monitor levels of HCPs during the development and purification of a biologic and to remove HCPs to an acceptable level in the final biotherapeutic product.
Simplifying Biologics Bioanalysis Sample Prep
These days, everyone seems to be furiously scratching tickets to become instant winners, but I’ll bet you didn’t expect to find sample prep tips that way. For large molecule bioanalysis, preparing your samples can be one of the biggest challenges. It’s a whole different world from traditional small molecule bioanalysis. SCIEX has developed techniques and automation that make biologics sample prep simpler and faster, with reproducible results.
The Connection Between Mass Spectrometry and Space Exploration
Mass spectrometry has been used for some pretty fascinating applications in our world – like testing for steroid use in athletes1, measuring pesticides in grapes2, assessing the efficiency of a psoriasis drug3, and whether that expensive bottle of 100% olive oil is, well, really 100% olive oil.4 But did you know mass spec is also used out of this world? Like… in space?
The Future of Biologics Drug Development is Today
Since the 1982 approval of Eli Lilly’s recombinant human insulin, Humulin, biotherapeutic drug development has steadily grown into a global market valued at $140 billion in 2013, increased from $25 billion in 2001
A Hybrid LBA/LC-MS Assay – Your Questions Answered
Last week we posted a blog on Biologics Bioanalysis Key Challenges, where we presented a webinar on those key challenges.
Using Mass Spectrometry to Identify and Quantify Contaminants in Water Samples
Access to clean wholesome water is one of our basic human rights. Human engineering has designed incredible methods to collect, filter, purify, store and distribute water to billions of us worldwide, but does this mean that our water is completely safe to drink? Also,...
LC-MS/MS Method for Biotherapeutic Drug Development Challenges
Traditionally, the pharmacokinetic profile of biotherapeutics such as insulin glargine, adalimumab, trastuzumab and others, used gold standard LBAs to assess dose-response during drug discovery and development. However, LBAs require a specific antibody reagent to be developed for each mAb variant, a process that is often incompatible with the compressed timeframes encountered during the initial stages of drug development.
QTOF Technology for Targeted and Unknown Forensic Drugs Screening Workflows
In this study, the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) outlines the comparison of their existing technology and how SCIEX LC-MS/MS systems can assist them in their forensic research. The WSLH routinely analyze for 300 forensic drug compounds in over 18,000 samples per year.
Expert Advice to Help You with Routine Food Testing in the Lab
Between 3-6 November 2015, the Recent Advances in Food Analysis (RAFA) 2015 Symposium took place in Prague, Czech Republic.
Contaminants and Novel Approaches in Food Analysis
During RAFA 2015, New Food Magazine hosted a roundtable (sponsored by SCIEX) to bring together experts with routine food testing backgrounds to discuss the latest industry trends, challenges, recent technological advances, and expectations of future laboratories.
Polar Pesticide Analysis by CESI-MS for Routine Food Testing – A Poster Talk
Method development for routine food testing presents many challenges – whether you are looking to increase the speed of your screening or simplify your method there can be different solutions suited to the task at hand. During RAFA 2015 in Prague, Steve Lock, Market Development Manager for SCIEX Separations in EMEA outlines how CESI-MS may be best suited for polar pesticide analysis.
Using Mass Spectrometry to Detect Trace Ingredients in Food – a Poster Talk
In today’s poster talk Jens Dahlmann, Senior Applications Specialist at SCIEX discusses how mass spectrometry might be best suited to the identification of trace ingredients in foods.
How You Can Detect Pesticide 1080 In Milk & Infant Formula – A Poster Talk
In this poster talk André Schreiber, Applications and Product Manager for Food and Environmental Markets at SCIEX guides you through a new method developed in conjunction with Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC). The method is designed to better detect a harmful substance that the infant formula and milk industry are under threat from – Sodium Fluoroacetate, otherwise known as Compound 1080 or Monofluoroacetate.
Drug Metabolism and Bioanalysis Journal Articles Focus on Drug Metabolism and so Much More
Check-out the top articles that focus on innovations in drug metabolism as well as small molecule quantitation and biologics bioanalysis. Exciting advancements! We can’t wait to see all that will come in 2016! Quantitative analysis of maytansinoid (DM1) in human serum...
Reasons why LC-MS/MS is my method of choice for meat speciation and authenticity testing
The meat trade hasn’t had a good reputation since the horsemeat scandal that burst into headlines in 2013. The scandal has left such a mark that meat speciation, adulteration and authenticity are still high-profile topics today. Think about it from a...
Purchasing Mass Spec Technology for Your Forensic Lab
What does every scientist think about in the lab? Validation. This is the feeling I encountered while reading a recent scientific report on nature.com. What struck me was not only the study itself which discounted cannabinoid incorporation into hair as a method for...
A Reliable Method for the Identification, Quantitation, and Confirmation of Pesticides
When carrying out routine pesticide identification tests in your lab how simple is the process of identification, quantitation, and final confirmation from sample to sample? A reliable method designed to generate multiple data sets and confirm sample data in parallel with your test can save an awful lot of time and effort which is especially helpful as the demand for routine testing increases. In this poster talk, Detlev Schleuder, Support Manager for Food & Environmental Markets, explains how the new QTRAP® 6500+ system can optimize your laboratory’s output with this simple method.
The Gluten Free Cookie Label Test
I am a label reader. I like to eat healthily and know what the long, confusing ingredients on the side of a package mean. Therefore, in the spirit of the holiday season, I dedicate this blog to all the gluten intolerant folks out there whose only wish is to eat a yummy cookie while also being absolutely positively sure it is gluten free.
Testing Liquor for Authenticity Using LC-MS/MS Technology
The Proof is in Your Holiday Drink If you think bootlegging was limited to the age of Prohibition then you have never tested liquor for authenticity using mass spectrometry. Maybe it is a scientist thing, but we simply cannot help but bring up the subject as people...
Five Tips for Safe Handling Holiday Decorations
Bring out the boxes of decorations this holiday season and while you are at it, keep in mind you could be facing dangerous exposure to chemicals too. From trees to garland, candles and toys, here are some tips to keep in mind for safe handling. Trees Fake trees are...