Metquest software is designed to save time and costs for researchers performing drug-metabolism and pharmacokinetic (DMPK) studies, when compared to traditional multiple-reaction monitoring methods.
The software solution enables laboratories to take advantage of Thermo Scientific Orbitrap mass spectrometry (MS) high-resolution accurate-mass (HRAM) full-scan data, to perform quantitative metabolic stability studies and identify putative metabolites in a single injection.
Metquest software will be demonstrated at the Salt Palace Convention Center Salons 250BCEF on 24-26 May 2010, during the ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics in Salt Lake City, Utah.
In combination with the Thermo Scientific LTQ Orbitrap or Exactive ranges of liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) systems, Metquest enables researchers to routinely perform quantitative and qualitative analyses in the same run.
Patrick Bennett, director of marketing for scientific instruments at Thermo Fisher Scientific, said: 'Metquest software allows users to quantify and identify compounds and their metabolites simultaneously, and interrogate data later for additional information without having to re-run the entire experiment, which typically includes sample preparation and LC/MS analysis.
'This turnkey solution offers significant benefits to the industry and will revolutionise the way LC/MS experiments are performed in DMPK labs,' he added.
Orbitrap technology is suitable for compound identification and high-throughput screening for simultaneous qualitative and quantitative analyses.
Its ultra-high mass resolution up to 100,000 filters out chemical noise, such as isobaric interferences from biological matrices, enabling low detection limits and fewer false positives.
The processing methods in Metquest software have been developed to automatically process full-scan high-resolution data for compound identification from complex biological matrices, without the need for predefined mass-to-charge values.
Because Metquest software does not require MS/MS method development and optimisation, acquisition methods are more simple to set up and a single method can be used for multiple compounds.
The automated generation of metabolic stability plots from the processed data is said to save time compared to manual generation of plots using other software.
