Quadrupole Time-of-Flight LC/MS

The Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology at SLU has within their commitment in the platform Swedish Metabolomics Centre (SMC; www.swedishmetabolomicscentre.se) decided to purchase two (2) high resolution mass spectrometers of type Agilent 6546 Quadrupole Time-of-Flight LC/MS.

The intended small molecule analyses require that the instrument is capable to connect to an Agilent 1290 Infinity UHPLC-system, and the mass spectrometer with resolution up to 50 000, high mass accuracy and precision in both MS and MS/MS spectra, and a dynamic range of magnitude of five orders.

Huvudsaklig plats för byggnation/anläggning eller utförande: Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology.

High Resolution LC-MS instruments.

Förklaring:

Swedish Metabolomics Centre was established year 2013, and has since its start analysed more than 200 000 biological samples from all different kinds of organisms. The centre performs metabolite analysis by mass spectrometry, that involves targeted analysis of specific metabolite or lipids, as well as untargeted metabolomics or lipidomics analysis. The base of the analysis is the mass spectrometry equipment. We’re currently in a need to replace two of our LC-MS instruments. We have two tracks to follow when we are replacing the instrument.

1) Improve our metabolite analysis based on better performance of the instruments, i.e. mass spectrometers that can acquire mass spectra with high information content – i.e. mass spectra with better mass resolution and mass accuracy than previous, both for intact molecular ions and their fragment ions.

2) Keep existing work-flow from LC-separation to data processing. The first demands that the acquired mass spectrometers can control existing UHPLC-equipment (Agilent UHPLC 1290 Infinity). Secondly, the data processing work-flow that we have developed, which is based on fast reliable targeted processing, based on pre-existing libraries must be continued. The latter is extremely important as with the type of sample throughput we have, the data processing can be a bottleneck. Change data processing strategy will be too time consuming and inevitably cause severe delay of service and research performed at the centre.

We therefore require a LC-MS systems that can provide high resolution and mass accuracy in both MS and MS/MS modes but still has a high dynamic range detection. In addition, and partly the most important, is that the developed data processing work-flow can be intact. These criteria are fulfilled by the Agilent 6546 Quadrupole Time-of-Flight LC/MS.

The Agilent 6546 Quadrupole Time-of-Flight LC/MS is a robust LC-MS instrument, and the specifications are matching our requirements including

Mass range:

M/z 50-10000

Sensitivity:

Full MS pos: 1 pg reserpine on column S/N 500:1

Full MS neg: 1 pg chloamphenicol on column S/N 500:1

Resolution (pos): at m/z 118 > 30 000; at m/z 2722 > 60 000. Neg corresponding resolution.

Mass accuracy:

MS: < 0.8 ppm RMS error with internal calibration; MSMS, product ion: < 2 ppm

Scan modes:

Full Scan, autoMS/MS, targeted MS/MS, QRAID

Spectra acquisition rate: MS, 50 spectra/s; MS/MS; 30 spectra/s

Dynamic range: 5 magnitudes of order

Visma notice: https://opic.com/id/afcjzbmtht