Time-of-flight mass spectrometer offers seamless biomarker profiling and subsequent identification for demanding proteomics researchers
Bruker Daltonics announces the Autoflex II series of Maldi-Tof and novel high- performance Maldi-Tof/Tof mass spectrometers.
The Autoflex II Tof/Tof is said to be the first vertical Tof/Tof system, and offers almost all of the high-performance MS/MS characteristics of larger Tof/Tof systems, yet requires much less lab space, and is priced competitively.
The Autoflex II Maldi-Tof is the successor of the well-established Autoflex system launched in 2000, the first industrial high-throughput Maldi-Tof MS system.
Autoflex II incorporates various performance, electronics and software enhancements, and can be optionally upgraded on-site to full Tof/Tof capabilities.
Autoflex II now operates under Bruker's integrated Compass software environment for easy operation in multi- instrument laboratories, and with what it says is the most comprehensive proteomics analysis software suite in the industry.
For pharmaceutical customers, the Autoflex II system offers software to support customers in achieving 21 CFR Part 11 compliance.
Bruker Daltonics also offers IQ, OQ and PV support for FDA-regulated customers.
The Autoflex II series benefits from Anchorchip Maldi sample targets which use the industry-standard microtitre plate (MTP) format, and are thus easily compatible with most common microbiology or clinical diagnostics sample preparation robots.
An optional robotic arm is available for unattended 24/7 operation.
Anchorchip technology provides exactly-positioned samples on the Maldi-target for robust and fast automation, as well as a sensitivity boost by up to two orders of magnitude.
Applications to expression proteomics and advanced clinical proteomics.
Since the introduction of Bruker Daltonics's Ultraflex Tof/Tof system in 2001, Maldi-Tof/Tof technology has been adopted rapidly by the expression proteomics community.
Key advantages of Maldi-Tof/Tof technology include superb MS/MS sensitivity, sequence coverage and information content due to the inherent high-efficiency MS/MS fragment generation.
Tof/Tof tandem mass spectra can be acquired with unprecedented throughput and ease of use, and the MS/MS results from ultraflex and autoflex Tof/Tof systems are straight-forward to interpret automatically.
The Autoflex II Tof/Tof provides the power of Maldi- Tof/Tof in a compact and affordable research system for proteomics applications.
The system enables fast, automated protein identification by Maldi-Tof peptide mass fingerprinting, immediately followed by more detailed Tof/Tof protein structural characterisation.
The Autoflex II system can be an integral module of either Proteineer solution for high-success expression proteomics, or ClinProt solution for advanced biomarker discovery and robust clinical proteomics.
ClinProt is an integrated set of tools for peptide and protein biomarker discovery and clinical proteomics research, including automated magnetic bead based sample preparation methods, and ClinProTools comprehensive analysis, visualization and statistical model building software tools.
In an advanced biomarker discovery workflow, after magnetic bead sample preparation, profile spectra are acquired in either linear or in high-resolution reflector mode, which can differentiate potentially overlapping peaks.
The superior sensitivity and excellent resolution of the Autoflex II generate mass spectral profiles of potential biomarkers with high information content in a robust and reproducible manner.
Moreover, putative biomarkers can often be identified immediately by a subsequent Tof/Tof measurement on the same sample using the Autoflex II Tof/Tof. Frank Laukien, president and CEO of Bruker Daltonics, commented: "Mass spectrometry is rapidly growing in importance in clinical and diagnostics research.
"However, the biomarker discovery community, as well as the FDA, have recently become concerned about the robustness and reproducibility of earlier mass spectrometry technologies in clinical proteomics publications.
"There is now a clear trend away from developing potential diagnostic assays just based on MS patterns or 'barcodes', and towards a clear scientific understanding of the biomarkers.
"We believe in particular that biomarker identification is indispensable to query the scientific literature in order to assess the potential biological and medical relevance of putative biomarkers.
"The new Autoflex II Tof/Tof, which allows for seamless Maldi-Tof profile acquisition and subsequent biomarker identification by Tof/Tof, appears to be ideal for today's much more demanding biomarker discovery environment."
