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...
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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...
Detecting low levels of drugs and their metabolites in hair and nail samples using LC-MS/MS
You probably have heard of testing blood and urine samples for the presence of drugs and their metabolites. But do you know about the benefits of hair and nail analysis? In a recent webinar, Tina Binz, Deputy Head of the Center for Forensic Hair Analysis, University of Zurich, discussed the benefits of developing comprehensive and sensitive LC-MS/MS for the detection of low-level drugs and metabolites in keratinized matrices.
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.
Guide decisions during cell line development with more information at the intact level
Monitoring product quality attributes (PQAs) throughout monoclonal antibody (mAb) development is vital to ensuring drug safety and efficacy. By adopting orthogonal analytical techniques and integrating new technologies that have the potential to provide more information, it is possible to improve product quality and manufacturing efficiency and make more informed decisions.
Maximize NPS analysis with accurate mass spectrometry
LC-MS/MS is a powerful analytical tool in forensic toxicology testing that can support a variety of testing regimes such as screening, confirmation and quantitative workflows. More specifically, analysis of NPS using LC-MS/MS provides many advantages, including the ability to reliably detect new drugs and their metabolites from a variety of biological matrices.
Metabolite identification and peace of mind
Managing metabolite identification (Met ID) studies is challenging, so what is at the top of your priority list as you plan the year ahead? Ensuring you have the data needed to manage product safety, meeting deadlines, staff recruitment and training, maintaining compliance, capital expenses, or something else?
What has the Echo® MS system done for the pharma industry? (And don’t just take our word for it!)
SCIEX was very proud to have an illustration of the Acoustic Ejection Mass Spectrometry (AEMS) technology that powers the Echo® MS system on the front cover of the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry in January 2023. The associated article—Ultrahigh-Throughput Intact Protein Analysis with Acoustic Ejection Mass Spectrometry—was co-authored by scientists from SCIEX and Merck.
Methods for OPI electrode cleaning for Echo® MS system electrodes
Depending on the samples you are running on the system, it is possible for the Open Port Interface (OPI) electrode to become dirty or occluded over time. Below are two different cleaning strategies that can help you maintain your Echo® MS system and keep your OPI...
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.
Bad Leftovers: Antibiotic Residues in Food
We know that antibiotics used to treat livestock can end up in the food we eat. Routine food testing labs are essential for detecting compounds, like these, that can be dangerous to our health. Antibiotic residues include both parent molecules and metabolites left...
Canada’s Focus on Cannabis Quality and Safety Intensifies
The Second in a Three-Part Series Welcome to the second in a series of blogs from the cannabis team at SCIEX, designed to bring you up to speed and put you in the lead of the recently legalized cannabis market in Canada. In the first blog, we introduced the Cannabis...
Looking for Ethanol Metabolites and Barbiturates in Urine? Get the Fast and Sensitive ‘Two Bird, One Stone’ Method
Alcohol is legal and widely available, but it is an intoxicating and addictive substance that can have harmful effects on the human mind and body. It reduces inhibitions and distorts judgment and rational decision making, making it the number one cause of criminal...
Sensitivity, It’s at the Very Heart of Who We Are
Walk into any modern pharmaceutical company these days, and you’ll likely find at least one if not many, SCIEX LC-MS/MS instruments. Assays for the detection and quantitation of small molecule drugs, metabolites, biotherapeutics, biomarkers, and many other analytes...
The Advantages of a Software Maintenance Agreement
You’ve bought your mass spectrometer. You’ve installed all your hardware. You’ve got your operating software set up. You’ve mastered your software workflow modules to optimize quantitative and qualitative data processing. That’s it, right? Even though your system is...
You’ve Edited the Gene. Now What?
Protein-Level Verification Without The Need For Antibodies Using SWATH® Acquisition. Fast, Comprehensive, and Highly Reproducible Although humans have been able to influence the traits of plants and animals for thousands of years through domestication and selective...
Environmental Scientists: Here’s Why You Should Consider Nominal Mass Spectrometry for Your Routine PFAS and Gen-X Testing in Drinking Water
How are you feeling about PFAS regulation right now? If you’re like us, you probably find it hard to pinpoint one specific feeling. But if we took a look at the current state of affairs, we’d all probably agree that it’s a minefield of uncertainty. Under the Safe...
Trailblazers: Oscar Cabrices on Food Testing Trends to Watch for in the Americas
With the rapid shift in diet consciousness and environmental concerns, and the emergence of new technology, it’s a new food world. As a result, food testers are beginning to have a greater need for rigorous food testing techniques to ensure food safety and quality....
Why Quant?
Every decision you make requires a number As a pharmaceutical scientist, you understand the challenges in getting a new drug through the discovery and development pipeline. As an innovation partner in mass spectrometry, SCIEX works continuously with you, our...
6 Tips to Keep Your Lab’s Software Up and Running
6 Tips to Keep Your Lab’s Software Up and Running Is your lab utilizing SCIEX instrumentation but hesitant about upgrading to the latest software release? Perhaps you are uncertain about key features, error codes, or output. Not to worry, behind every great mass...
A Smart Way to Profit from the Wealth of Biobanks
Microflow LC with SWATH® Acquisition for Digitizing Biobanks What if you could access thousands of high-quality samples for your research? What if these samples were well-annotated biological specimens? And what if they were carefully segmented into just the...
Why Conventional Flow LC-MS/MS Bioanalysis Is out and Microflow Is In
New technologies can transform a laboratory’s throughput and efficiency. At Alturas, if we try out a new technology, we ask: Does it work? Is it convenient? Is it rugged? Are we getting good results? When we look at the convenience, uptime, and overall data that we’re...
Food Testing Labs: What Technology Is Right for You?
Consumer safety is the driving force behind food analysis. From field (or ocean) to fork, there are numerous opportunities for food to become potentially hazardous to human health. As fast as new contaminants enter the food chain, changes in regulation and legislation...
Fueling Up: Eating To Stay Strong When You Have Cancer
This is the third and final post in our series in honor of International Women’s Day and our collaboration with World Cancer Research Fund. To wrap up, Deborah Howland talks about the importance of diet for anyone facing cancer – or trying to prevent it. A specialist...
5 Demands of Forensic Toxicologists and the Ultra-Fast Method That Meets Them
There just isn’t a screening approach available that can give us everything we need when throughput is the priority. Sound familiar? For many toxicology labs, there is a misconception that compromises need to be made when it comes to high throughput drug screening....
Uncovering the Links Between Childhood Growth, Body Size, and a Woman’s Risk of Breast Cancer
Welcome to the second in a series of posts marking International Women’s Day, and our ongoing support of World Cancer Research Fund. This installment is a review by Dr. Jennifer Baker, of her work, that, with the help of a WCRF grant, is studying body size and its links to breast cancer. Dr. Baker, Lead Investigator at Denmark’s Frederiksberg Hospital, has a Ph.D. in Human Nutrition from Cornell University. Her research focuses on clinical epidemiology.
Global Trends That Will Affect Neonicotinoid Usage in 2019
Neonicotinoids have become the most widely used class of insecticide in the world, with registration in 120 countries. However, these pesticides have become embroiled in multi-year controversy in Europe and North America due to their risk to beneficial...
A Multi-Omics Database for Tomato Research and Breeding
Ace. Beefsteak. Big Boy. Kumato. Early Girl. Roma. Sun Gold. San Marzano. These are just a few of the thousands of varieties of tomato plants available today. And while all of these varieties may be very different with respect to crop yield, disease resistance,...
A Diagnosis And A “Difficult Waiting Game”
We are thrilled to mark International Women’s Day 2019 by making our fourth annual donation to World Cancer Research Fund, a global not-for-profit organization and leading authority on the links between diet, nutrition, physical activity, and cancer. In fact, our...
Phthalates: The Everywhere Chemical That’s Hard to See, Not Anymore with LC-MS/MS
A few months back, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a technical report on the use of chemicals in food processing and the negative health effects on children. One of the main culprits is phthalates. The 411 of PhthalatesPhthalates are esters of phthalic...