Bruker Announces Powerful New Mass Spectrometry Systems and Solutions

At the 62nd ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics today, Bruker Corporation today announced 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 new systems and solutions are designed to deliver confident analyses with significantly enhanced performance, productivity and versatility.

Major Bruker Innovations at ASMS 2014:
•    New impact II ™  ultra-high resolution QTOF mass spectrometer with industry-leading further performance improvements
•    A breakthrough, new 21 Tesla magnet for ultra-high field Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry (FTMS), described in a separate joint press release together with NHMFL
•    Opening the next chapter in proteomics, the unique impact II now 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
•    ASMS debut of new autoflex™ speed MALDI TOF(/TOF) system with Bruker 2 kHz smartbeam™-II laser to enhance productivity in protein analysis, MALDI imaging and MALDI Biotyper applications

The new research capabilities, analytical utility and productivity will be presented in Bruker’s ASMS users’ symposium, breakfast workshops, and hospitality suite with emphasis on the following market/applications areas: systems biology, proteomics and metabolomics; biologics & pharmaceuticals; MALDI molecular imaging for pathology research and drug development; petroleomics, energy and industrial applications; applied markets including food safety, forensics and toxicology; as well as MALDI Biotyper-based clinical microbiology.  The following sections describe the new Bruker products in more detail:

impact™ II Mass Spectrometer

The new impact II system is the latest innovation in Bruker’s unique UHR-QTOF (ultra-high resolution Qq-time-of-flight) mass spectrometry product line, now with industry-leading >50,000 Full-Sensitivity Resolution (FSR).   It offers further enhanced analytical performance levels for all applications where trace analysis from complex, high-background matrices is a challenge – such as proteomics, biomarker research, identification of impurities, or residue screening.  

Due to its industry-leading sensitivity, broad mass-transfer ion optics and fast 50 Gbit/sec sampling technology, a dynamic range of  5 orders of magnitude is achieved at UHPLC speeds, with up to 50 Hz spectrum acquisition.  The impact II features industry-leading isotopic pattern accuracy, a prerequisite for automated, reliable molecular formula determination of low abundance compounds in nano- and UHPLC peaks.

The enhanced capabilities and versatility of this novel UHR-QTOF drive more productivity for all accurate mass , high dynamic range applications in academia and industry, including:

•    Faster and cost-effective analysis of sub-units of monoclonal antibodies, which can now be fully isotope resolved.
•    Sustainable identification and quantification performance for in-depth quantitative analysis of proteomics samples, including bottom-up proteomics, glycomics and the identification of PTMs
•    High-throughput proteoform screening of intact proteins with isotopic resolution up to 30 kDa.  This unique assay allows the screening of well over 1,000 proteoforms in a single 20-30 min UHPLC-UHR-QTOF run.  This breakthrough in proteomics is expected to provide an enabling technology for accelerated biomarker identification and validation, and for faster progress towards clinical proteomics.  
•    Deep insight into complex metabolomics samples in targeted and non-target analysis by integrated workflows using ProfileAnalysis™ software plus the new Compass PathwayScreener software to pinpoint biomarkers.
•    Better selectivity and specificity for the new Bruker solution in forensic toxicology, ToxScreener, which comes with accurate mass libraries developed together with leading forensic toxicology laboratories.
•    Unique Instant Expertise™ software for intelligent self-optimizing MS/MS acquisition to establish optimal experimental conditions independent of sample amount or complexity.  This translates into higher productivity and expert-caliber results - the first time.

These features ensure that the impact II delivers the fastest time-to-success for customers across a broad applications ranging from small molecule identification and characterization; to food safety, forensic and toxicology screening, metabolomics, pharmaceuticals, and bottom-up proteomics, proteoform screening to antibody analysis.

Multi-OMICS Knowledge Generation Platform

Bruker is driving the quest for deeper insights and taking ‘omics’ knowledge generation to new heights with the new additions improving productivity and versatility in areas such as bottom-up proteomics, glycomics, quantitative proteomics, intact protein analysis, post-translational modifications and metabolomics.

“We have been using the Impact since almost a year for routine shot-gun bottom-up proteomics. In combination with the CaptiveSpray nanoBooster, the instrument has provided an excellent level of sustainable performance, being capable of delivering untouched performance for over 6-8 weeks of 24/7 use. This is of tremendous importance for the success of our label-free measurement campaigns,” said Professor Alain Van Dorsselaer, LSMBO in Strassbourg, France.

To strengthen its bioinformatics platform, Bruker has collaborated with developers in the group of Professor Matthias Mann to add support for Bruker UHR-QTOF data to the state-of-the-art quantitative proteomics MaxQuant software designed for analyzing large mass-spectrometric data sets. It is specifically aimed at high-resolution MS data. Several labeling techniques as well as label-free data processing workflows are supported and in addition MaxQuant enables researchers to utilize the full potential of mass spectrometry driven proteomics in multi-OMICS approaches.

In metabolomics there is an increasing need for efficient data processing tools, and Bruker has strengthened its bioinformatics offering with Compass™ PathwayScreener software to provide a new layer of insight into metabolomics samples. With the new Compass PathwayScreener, users can get twice the results, performing pathway-driven, targeted metabolomics analysis on the same dataset used for non-targeted data mining. The PathwayScreener workflow can be integrated with Bruker’s market-leading multi-OMICS bioinformatics platform ProfileAnalysis™ for non-targeted metabolomics and label free proteomics studies.
 
Professor Jörn Kalinowski, at the Center for Biotechnology in Bielefeld, Germany, stated: “Using Compass PathwayScreener we were able to elucidate novel influences of mutants on metabolic networks in Corynebacterium glutamicum.”

In addition, Bruker is collaborating with the University of Alberta to facilitate the development of high-resolution tandem MS libraries for improved workflows in metabolomics.  Professor Liang Li explained: “As a co-PI of the Human Metabolome Database (HMDB) project, my laboratory generated the original MS/MS spectral library of about 800 human metabolites using low-resolution triple quadrupole mass spectrometry.  We are delighted to collaborate with Bruker to produce a new Human Metabolite MS/MS spectral library with much improved spectral quality.  This library, along with an automated acquisition and processing strategy, allows users to identify metabolites very quickly with high confidence.”

Dr. Ole Vorm, the Bruker Daltonics Vice President for the Life-Science Research & Proteomics business unit, commented: “The new products deliver outstanding and robust performance in a very accessible and cost-effective platform. We are conscious of enhancing the reach and capabilities of UHF-QTOF and nano-ESI such that we make this innovative technology readily available and accessible - also for biologists who may not be mass-spec experts.  Finally, our proteomics customers are excited about our breakthrough, rapid proteoform screening technology on the impact II, as well as its about 50% higher resolution for bottom-up proteomics, at full sensitivity and under UHPLC fast analysis conditions.”

ToxScreener, a Forensic Toxicology Solution based on Accurate Mass, High Dynamic Range LC-MS/MS

The ToxScreener, a new accurate mass, high dynamic range forensic toxicology solution for Bruker QTOF systems, incorporates broadband CID (bbCID) acquisition to provide a rapid and reliable way for scientists to confidently screen for hundreds or even thousands of known or previously unknown compounds of forensic relevance, delivering the highest degree of confidence, and data that is defensible in court.

The ToxScreener enables forensic toxicologists to keep up with the detection and identification of both the ‘traditional, established’ drugs of abuse, as well to detect new designer drugs that are rapidly emerging across the globe.  At the heart of the ToxScreener, is a high quality, accurate mass database covering drugs of forensic relevance allowing users to attain enhanced levels of confirmation for conclusive identification compared to alternative screening techniques.  The Bruker ToxScreener bbCID accurate mass forensic database was developed in close collaboration with toxicologists at the forensic institutes at the universities of Freiburg, Germany and Helsinki, Finland.

Professor Ilkka Ojanperä of the Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology at the University of Helsinki, said: “We have applied the bbCID concept using Bruker LC-TOF-MS for general forensic drug screening in urine since 2010.  In 2013, we switched to the newest UHPLC-UHR-QTOF mass spectrometry technology to attain enhanced sensitivity for drugs-of-abuse and designer drug forensic screening, covering critical low concentration compounds like THC acid, buprenorphine, LSD, and synthetic cannabinoids.  This approach has been well received amongst our customers, being an even bigger success than we expected, such that immunological methods in our laboratory have now been replaced by the Bruker QTOF bbCID workflow.  The bbCID concept has been carefully validated against spectral library comparison, and it has proven to deliver equal confidence, but with a much higher efficiency, significantly increasing our productivity.  Our forensic screening method has now been accredited by the Finnish Accreditation Service.”

High-throughput, Robust Toxtyper 1.1 Solution Automatically Analyzes for 900 Known Toxicology Target Compounds in 12 Minutes

The new Toxtyper 1.1 routine analytical solution includes novel library identification algorithms and reporting with a high-quality library update to over 900 target compounds.  In addition, the Toxtyper 1.1 workflow now also comes with a targeted drugs-of-abuse sub-library.  Key technologies to achieve robust and reliable toxicology identification performance include continuous, zero-delay positive/negative ion switching, high MS/MS specificity and novel, on-the-fly MS3 confirmation.  The new Toxtyper 1.1 search algorithms now also are fully compatible with the recently published “Maurer/Wissenbach/Weber LC-MSn library of Drugs, Poisons and their Metabolites”, an ion trap library which holds over 1,000 parent compounds and 2,700 metabolites.  

Novel software tools for automated assignment of structures to fragment ions offer additional metabolites identification and structure verification by MSn.  Toxtyper 1.1 now supports sample preparation SOPs for high sensitivity detection of drugs in urine and serum.  Toxtyper is a Research Use Only solution presently available only in Europe in selected countries.  For more information on the amaZon speed mass spectrometer, please visit www.bruker.com

ASMS Debut of autoflex™ speed MALDI-TOF(/TOF) with 2 kHz Smartbeam™ Laser

The updated autoflex speed mass spectrometer incorporates of numerous advancements to further enhance data quality, acquisition speed, class-leading mass and dynamic range, all with robust and efficient performance.  It further extends the applications of MALDI TOF/TOF in protein sequencing, biomarker discovery, polymer analysis, lipid and glycan analysis, molecular imaging, as well as in high-throughput MALDI Biotyper microbiological identification. The autoflex speed incorporates the patented smartbeam™-II laser, now with up to 2 kHz repetition rate and true-pixel image resolution at 20 µm, along with other features that enhance its capabilities including:
•    Unique FAST-SRM mode for single reaction monitoring in imaging drugs and metabolites in tissue.
•    Expanded high-resolution mass range for polymers and top-down, intact protein sequencing for long sequence readouts.
•    FlashDetector™ technology to increase resolution and prevent signal saturation for complex samples
•    Self-cleaning Ion Source cleans the source in minutes to improve up-time with minimal operator maintenance.
•    Optimized software packages for numerous applications e.g. protein, peptide or polymer analysis, as well as MALDI imaging, clinical research and the MALDI Biotyper IVD-CE workflow.