Technology is expected to increase speed, accuracy and productivity of high-throughput screening in drug discovery and other research applications
Agilent Technologies has introduced the Multimode Source, which it says is the first simultaneous multimode ion source for mass spectrometry.
This technology is expected to significantly improve the speed, accuracy and productivity of high-throughput screening in drug discovery and other research applications.
High-throughput screening is used to analyse large numbers of chemical compounds rapidly and with high sensitivity.
In order to be analysed by mass spectrometry, all compounds must be converted into ions.
Since not all molecules respond to the same mode of ionisation, multiple ionisation sources have been developed to facilitate high-throughput screening.
The Agilent Multimode Source is said to be the first and only technology capable of operating electrospray ionisation (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI) - the two most widely used ionisation modes - simultaneously.
"Pharmaceutical companies often synthesise and screen very large libraries of compounds in order to identify molecules with desired properties," said Taia Ergueta, general manager of Agilent's LC/MS platform business.
"Previously, researchers had to run the entire series of compounds through both ion sources in successive experiments in order to cover every compound.
"By eliminating the need to exchange sources and reanalyse samples, the multimode source can significantly improve the speed, efficiency and productivity of drug discovery and other types of research, including quantitative environmental, forensic, and peptide analysis".
The Multimode Source operates at typical high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) flow rates of up to 2ml/min in all modes, which is critical for high-throughput screening.
The ability to operate at normal HPLC rates in two modes simultaneously with no loss of sensitivity compared with stand-alone sources is described as a significant advance over previous devices.
While the Multimode Source provides high sensitivity in all modes, it also offers the flexibility to operate in ESI or APCI mode alone.
Agilent says it developed this patented new technology to overcome the limitations of existing multimode sources, which rely on either flow-splitting or voltage-switching designs that preclude simultaneous ioniszation and reduce sampling on a chromatographic peak.
The Agilent Multimode Source has a novel design in which liquid enters the source through a single nebuliser, is converted into a charged aerosol in an ESI chamber, undergoes drying in a thermal container, and passes into an APCI chamber.
ESI and APCI ions then merge and enter the mass spectrometer together.
By operating at high flow rates and high sensitivity without mode switching, this design allows researchers to acquire more data from each chromatographic peak.
The Agilent Multimode Source (G1978A) will initially be compatible with Agilent's quadrupole mass selective detectors (G1946B/C/D and G1956A/B).
Compatibility with Agilent's time-of-flight mass spectrometer is expected to follow over the coming months.
Agilent's ChemStation 32-bit software is required for instrument control, data acquisition and data management.
