Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX Introduces Combined MALDI and Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry Platform
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Applied Biosystems and its joint venture partner, Sciex, a division of MDS Inc.'s Analytical Technologies business have announced plans to commercialize a first-of-its-kind mass spectrometry platform designed to help pharmaceutical companies accelerate the drug compound screening process.
The FlashQuant™ platform is said to be the first commercially available system to combine industry-standard triple quadrupole mass spectrometry with widely-used MALDI technology.
Laboratory tests conducted by Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX with the platform have consistently delivered a 25-fold increase in speed for small molecule quantitation, compared with the fastest liquid chromatography-coupled triple quadrupole mass spectrometers currently in the market.
The platform from Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX is expected to enable scientists to generate the same volume of research data in a fraction of the time currently required by other methods. Early users of the platform predict that this ability to generate faster results may enable more productivity in pharmaceutical research.
"Pharmaceutical scientists are looking to deliver quality information faster and with more consistent results," said Laura Lauman, president for Applied Biosystems' proteomics and small molecules division.
"We believe that the FlashQuant system is a breakthrough platform that will improve early drug discovery by increasing the speed and the number of compounds that can be profiled. This could potentially result in more efficiency and greater ROI in the drug development process, by enabling important development decisions to be made earlier and with more reliability," Lauman said.
Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX Instruments has created this technology in drug molecule quantitation by bringing together two technologies: MALDI and triple quadrupole mass spectrometers.
One of the initial applications expected for the FlashQuant platform is early absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) profiling in pharmaceutical discovery laboratories. ADME profiling is a key step in the screening of candidate compounds, whereby the characteristics of a compound are evaluated for suitability as a drug.
"Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX Instruments' history of working with pharmaceutical companies continues to shape our deep understanding of the tools needed to advance drug development," said Andy Boorn, president for MDS Analytical Technologies. "We believe that with mass spectrometry innovations such as FlashQuant, we will continue to drive new capabilities for pharmaceutical discovery."
The FlashQuant platform is expected to be available for shipment in late summer, 2007.
