ASMS 2014 Overview

The 62nd ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics is taking place under sunny skies in Baltimore, MD. The premier mass spectrometry meeting, ASMS, sees many companies make significant announcements and product introductions. Here we will look at a selection of announcements made at the conference. 

Bruker
Bruker announced a range of mass spectrometry-based product introductions for life-science research and proteomics, for clinical research, for pharma/biopharma/CRO customers, as well as for applied and industrial markets.  The introductions include:

• New impact II ™  ultra-high resolution QTOF mass spectrometer that enables for the first time ever fast, intact protein profiling of over 1,000 proteoforms in a single, less than 30 minute UHPLC-UHR-QTOF run.

• New multi-OMICS platform increasing productivity, versatility, and deeper biological insights, including full MaxQuant software support and new Compass™ PathwayScreener™ software.

• New ToxScreener™ solution for comprehensive forensic toxicology on unknowns.

• European launch of Toxtyper™ 1.1, a robust and easy to use forensic and clinical research solution for routine, fast, push-button toxicology on  approximately 900 compounds.

Bruker also announced the installation of the world's first 21 Tesla magnet at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) at Florida State University , representing the world’s highest field, persistent, superconducting magnet suitable for FT-ICR mass spectrometry.   

Shimadzu
Shimadzu announced a partnership with Indigo BioSystems  that will see the company combine its ultra-fast MS platforms with Indigo's ASCENT software. Whilst a collaboration with the MacCoss Lab at the University of Washington aims to bring quantitative Clinical Chemistry Proteomics applications closer to clinical labs. 

Shimadzu's product announcements included:

• GCMS-TQ8040 Triple Quad GC-MS enabling the analysis of 400+ compounds in one run, quick and easy method development with an MRM optimization tool, low detection and simultaneous  Scan/MRM.

• Noviplex Cards: Plasma separator technology application to mass spectrometry, allowing rapid collection of a volumetric sample of plasma from an unmeasured amount of whole blood within minutes. 

• QuantAnalytics Open Access LCMS Software Packages, an open LC/MS/MS data tool for the pain management and clinical markets. 

• Expansion of i3D Enterprise Service, the cloud-based data storage, processing and reporting platform, to include applications for chemistry teaching labs. 

AB SCIEX
AB SCIEX released five new mass spectrometry solutions, these included the Next-Generation Proteomics Platform which consists of the new TripleTOF® 6600 system and SWATH™ Acquisition 2.0, BioPharmaView™ Software for automating biologics workflow, StatusScope™ Remote Monitoring service, and Triple Quad™ 3500 System for food testing. 

• TripleTOF® 6600 system with SWATH™ Acquisition 2.0 - bringing new power to data challenges for advanced biomarker discovery and systems biology.

• BioPharmaView™ Software – efficiently analyzes and compares batches while monitoring critical quality attributes according to the FDA’s well-characterized biotherapeutic product (WCBP) model.

• StatusScope™ Remote Monitoring service – delivering the flexibility to view instrument performance and workflow status remotely, capturing errors quickly to minimize downtime.

• Triple Quad™ 3500 System – with a three-fold increase in sensitivity over its predecessor, the 3500 aims to meet the evolving demands of food and environmental testing laboratories. 

Agilent
Alongside celebrating customer achievements, Agilent made a number of product announcements aimed at helping users push the boundaries of achievement and laboratory productivity. These included: 

• The 7010 Triple Quadrupole GC-MS system featuring a totally redesigned ion source that enables attogram detection limits, a first for any EI GC/MS/MS system. 

• The 6495 LC-MS Triple Quadrupole, the newest addition to the 6400 series which is designed for the most challenging quantitation in life sciences, food and environmental applications

• The 6120VL, an entry level mass detector based on Agilent single quadrupole LC/MS technology. 

• Added optimized target deconvolution capabilities to its MassHunter Workstation Software, enabling users to effectively remove background matrix ions from data.

• All of Agilent LC-MS instruments now include support software for control of supercritical fluid chromatography.

• Agilent also announced that they will distribute Cerno Bioscience's MassWorks calibration and analysis software with all its GC/MSD systems.

Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo announced that its San Jose facility has registered with the U.S. FDA as a medical device establishment, a major milestone in the company's initiative to develop Class 1 mass spectrometry-based instruments for the clinical market.

Thermo also launched new instruments, software and consumables, aimed at allowing customers achieve higher levels of performance and productivity. these include:

• Thermo Scientific Q Exactive HF System - A high resolution accurate mass LC-MS system  that scans up to 18 Hz, 50 percent faster than predecessor. 

• Thermo Scientific TSQ 8000 Evo triple quadrupole GC-MS system, with new EvoCell technology - Designed to be more sensitive and 3x faster than its predecessor for laboratories analyzing food, environmental, and biological samples.

• Thermo Scientific Mass Spectrometric Immunoassay (MSIA) pipette tips - Providing a robust technology designed to purify target proteins, peptides and therapeutic antibodies in a simplified way for downstream mass spectrometric analysis.

• Thermo Scientific PepFinder - A new software tool designed to increase the speed, quality and accuracy in comprehensive biotherapeutic protein characterization during drug development and production quality control. 

• High resolution accurate mass (HRAM) spectral library, generated using the Thermo Scientific Q Exactive LC-MS system at 140,000 resolution, containing compounds for environmental and food safety analysis and clinical/toxicological research.

Waters
Waters announced an agreement with Prosolia  for the exclusive rights to DESI technology for clinical research applications as well as a collaboration with Omics LLC to advance petroleum sample analysis. 

The company's product announcements included:  

• The Waters® Xevo® TQ-S micro - A compact benchtop tandem quadrupole mass spectrometer designed to acquire sensitive, robust and dependable data at accelerated rates of acquisition for numerous analytes at varying concentrations. 

• The Waters® Xevo® G2-XS mass spectrometer - A new high performance benchtop QTof mass spectrometer, featuring the new XS Collision Cell, it offers uncompromised analytical sensitivity and selectivity in a benchtop QTof mass spectrometer. 

• Expansion of the ionKey/MS™ System to include the SYNAPT G2-S, SYNAPT G2-Si, Xevo G2-S QTof and the newly introduced Xevo G2-XS QTof micro mass spectrometer.

• Progenesis® QI for proteomics Version 2.0 - The proteomics data analysis software enables more rapid and reliable quantification and identification of differentially changing proteins in laboratory samples than ever before .

PerkinElmer
PerkinElmer showcased their portfolio of mass spectrometry and supporting informatics and services offerings, some of the highlights include, but were not limited to:

• NexION 350 ICP-MS - PerkinElmer's newest atomic spectroscopy product providing greater efficiency in elemental analyses, specifically characterization of nanoparticles.

• AxION 2 TOF MS -Offering exceptional sensitivity for use in environmental, forensic, metabolite ID, impurity profiling, food safety, nutraceutical or product degradation.  

• AxION Direct Sample Analysis (DSA) - No upfront chromatographic separation enables food, forensics, environmental, pharmaceutical and industrial research labs to significantly save analysis time. 

• AxION iQT GC/MS/MS - An advanced mass spectrometry technology that is designed to facilitate and non-targeted compound analysis. 

• Clarus SQ 8 GC/MS - Delivering reliable throughput and productivity for applications requiring extreme sensitivity. 

Full details of all companies activities at ASMS 2014 and products can be found on their respective websites.