AB SCIEX unveils entry-level mass spec system
The Triple Quad 3500 machine, for research use, enables labs of all experience levels and budget constraints to access technology to meet their demanding testing needs, said the firm.
It was developed based on customer and industry feedback to give customers new to mass spec or with limited budgets the productivity, reliability, and robustness that their assays demand.
The system incorporates the proprietary TurboV Ion Source and Curtain Gas interface to give labs data quality over long runs with minimal downtime.
Increasing demand to do ‘more’
Lauryn Bailey, global marketing manager, food and environmental markets at AB SCIEX said food and environmental labs are up against increasing demands to do ‘more’: more samples, more compounds, and with more confidence.
She told FoodQualityNews.com that they must do more with fewer resources (lab personnel, time, or money) and deal with analytical challenges from complex food and environmental sample matrices.
“The Triple Quad 3500 LC-MS/MS system enables labs to shift their analytical methods from conventional LC, GC, or other approaches, to LC-MS/MS, which allows them to analyze more compounds with higher throughput and with the selectivity that MS/MS offers to ensure better confidence in their results.
“The reliability and ruggedness of the Triple Quad 3500 system also allows consistent results for long runs of complex matrices, simplifying the analysis and maintenance required, particularly for users that are new to mass spec, so they can focus more on productivity and getting results and less on up-keep of their instrumentation.”
Updated machine
An upgrade on the existing API 3200 system was needed because labs must analyze for more compounds and with faster turnaround times.
Updates include faster scan speeds, improved polarity switching, enhanced sensitivity, updated electronics, and new data acquisition algorithms to maximize throughput and ensure targeted compounds are reliably detected in every injection.
Improved electronics in the Triple Quad 3500 system relative to the API 3200 enables the addition of more compounds to every analysis, said Bailey.
“The modern design offers space savings in the laboratory (and the LC can stack on top of the mass spec), which is important for many labs with limited space,” she said.
“But, it was important that we keep with the tradition of the API 3200 to ensure that the system offers the ruggedness, robustness, and reliability that the API 3200 system was known for.”
The Triple Quad 3500 package includes MultiQuant software, which simplifies data processing, review, and reporting, and can be adopted by new users.
AB SCIEX said it expected the system to be used in pesticide residue and veterinary drug residue testing (antibiotic residues) in foods to meet trade regulatory requirements.
Bailey said all labs need access to technology to ensure that they can do their respective jobs.
“The analysis itself is hard enough – from dealing with challenging samples to the need to identify more and more chemicals of concern with faster turnaround time to results,” she said.
“Making the equipment smaller and simpler removes one of the analytical challenges that these labs face, so they can focus on the job at hand.
“Because many of these laboratories are fund-limited, the affordability gives them the chance to adopt the right technology to perform the analysis they need to perform.”
