Are you thinking about replacing existing immunoassay technology with clinical mass spectrometry? Keep reading to discover how the 3 “S”s will help you make the decision. 1. How does sensitivity play a role? Many of the analytes measured in a clinical chemistry lab...
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What is the difference between a rapid and a thorough search in ProteinPilot software?
When setting up your search in ProteinPilot software, you select either a Rapid Search or a Thorough Search in the Search Effort section. This setting determines which parts of the algorithm will be invoked and effectively how deep into your sample you will search to...
Breaking down the SCIEX Triple Quad™ 7500 LC-MS/MS System – QTRAP® Ready
Sensitivity and robustness carry different meanings in the world of mass spectrometry. Generally, sensitivity refers to an instrument’s ability to achieve lower limits of detection (LOD). Robustness, on the other hand, refers to an instrument’s ability to consistently...
The honey sting
As a consumer it’s hard for me not to feel inundated with claims that our food is “all-natural” or “chemical-free” or that we should buy certain “superfoods” for their health benefits. We read labels and trust that the product we are buying is what we are truly...
Innovation that’s blasting through limitations in explosive detection
Mass spectrometry’s important role in identifying explosives The need for rapid explosive detection is now an unfortunate reality. The remit is multifaceted. The first is for preventative purposes, to protect us from any threat to life. The second is in the...
A new generation of therapeutic modalities
There are over 7,000 genetic diseases that could potentially be cured using gene therapy. Rare metabolic diseases, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease and cancers are some of the top disease classes that can be addressed with gene therapies. With over 1,000...
Enhancing Biologics with CESI-MS Characterization
Comprehensive characterization of a biologic requires analysis at both the intact and digest levels, but these analyses can be complex and cumbersome. For example, with conventional liquid chromatography separations, researchers are often left with limited information...
Full, partial and empty capsid ratios for AAV analysis: What’s the big deal?
For many of you working to develop gene therapy drugs, you know that the time to market the drug is critical. Because gene therapeutics cure diseases by targeting specific genes, it is a constant race to see who develops the drug first. Unlike other classes of drugs where multiple medications can be used to treat a disease, whoever is first to develop a gene therapy drug wins.
Accurate mass LC-MS/MS for PFAS analysis without needing a blockbuster budget
If you’ve been following our recent blogs, you’ve probably seen quite a bit on how per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are shaking up both the food and environmental industry. Even if you’ve not been following our blogs, you’ve probably seen a lot of media...
A rising star in food allergen research: proteomics of shellfish allergen
It’s important to know what you’re eating, especially if you suffer from a food allergy.
About 220 million people worldwide live with a food allergy.1 These numbers, along with the complexity and severity of conditions, continue to rise. In America, there are about 32 million food allergy sufferers—5.6 million of those are children under the age of 18.2.2 That’s 1 out of every 13 children, or about 2 in every classroom. From a financial perspective, the cost of food allergy childcare for US families is up to $25 billion
Routine cannabis screening is here. Will your lab reap the benefits?
Fast, accurate, and robust solution for routine commercial cannabis testing
As the world debates cannabis legalization for therapeutic applications and recreational use, the trends are shifting. Medicinal use of cannabis is legal in an increasing number of countries worldwide, including 33 states and the District of Columbia in the United States. Uruguay was the first country in the world to legalize the sale, cultivation, and distribution of cannabis in 2013. In the United States, Washington and Colorado were the first to fully legalize cannabis in 2012. By the end of 2019, 10 states have legalized recreational use for adults over the age of 21, with 64% of Americans favoring the move
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.
Empowering Your Lab with a Proactive Approach
Do you stay in the lab day and night, waiting for a sample run to finish? Or do you set your instrument to run and trust that it will operate as intended while you are away? Is there a way you can have a support network behind you to help to ensure the smooth operation of your instruments?
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.