The new hybrid ion trap-time-of-flight instrument was selected as being a breakthrough technology and achieved the award in the analytical instruments category
Shimadzu Scientific Instruments reports that its new mass spectrometer has received an R and D Magazine 2005 R and D 100 award.
Shimadzu's liquid chromatography mass spectrometry ion trap time-of-flight (LCMS-IT-Tof) is designed for a wide range of uses including biomarker studies, metabolomics, proteomics, metabolite identification, environmental analyses, forensics use, and homeland security functions.
Developed by a research team of scientists and engineers at Shimadzu, the LCMS-IT-Tof instrument enables researchers to perform multiple levels of ion fragmentation with high mass accuracy.
Specifically, the LCMS-IT-Tof - with more than a dozen issued and pending product technology patents - was designed to deal with the stringent requirements of identification of pharmaceutical impurities, natural products and metabolites.
Obtaining exact mass measurements with high sensitivity and with multiple levels of fragmentation is critical to taking the guesswork out of compound identification and speeding up analytical processes.
"This is the first ion trap-time-of-flight instrument for HPLC use that's widely available to researchers," noted Shigehiko Hattori, president and CEO of Shimadzu.
"We worked very hard to combine the best benefits of ion traps and time-of-flight mass spectrometers, and to have our rigorous research and development garner such a prestigious award is a real signal that our efforts were successful".
The Shimadzu LCMS-IT-Tof maintains its high sensitivity by significantly improving control over the entire ion collection and ion transfer process.
Major innovations in the design include improvements to collect more ions, compress ions more rapidly into the trap with high efficiency, and the efficient transfer of ions to the Tof (time-of-flight) portion of the instrument.
Coupling atmospheric pressure ionisation with its IT (ion trap) and Tof technologies, the LCMS-IT-Tof delivers both high mass accuracy, and high mass resolution (>10,000 at 1000m/z), says Shimadzu.
It is designed to maximise sensitivity and selectivity, and redefines the capabilities of the quadruple ion trap - which not only supports high precursor ion selection and fragmentation of ions before ejection into the Tof, but also allows ballistic ion ejection into the Tof to minimise energy spread of ions exiting the trap.
In March 2005, the LCMS-IT-Tof also won the Silver Award for best new product at the Pittsburgh Conference (Pittcon).
