AB SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies,and Phytronix Technologies today announced the integration of Phytronix’s LDTD (Laser Diode Thermal Desorption) ion source with AB SCIEX’s DiscoveryQuantTM Software, giving discovery pharmaceutical scientists a faster, more streamlined method development process with automated method optimizationthan previously available for early ADME workflows. The new solution was launched this week at the AAPS 2012 conference.

This represents the next step for AB SCIEX and its partner Phytronix to offer the high-throughput market a better alternative than other technologies. This joint solutionis ideally suited for laboratories that run thousands of samples per day in a regulated environment, especially those with the need for global connectivity to compound database libraries.

The integration gives scientists the ability to use DiscoveryQuant Software to control the LDTD source – and when coupled with the AB SCIEX Triple QuadTM and QTRAP® mass spectrometry portfolio -to achieve speeds that rival any other product for high-throughput applications in the market today, with sample-to-sample cycle times as low as four seconds. This MS/MS (tandem mass spectrometry) solution bypasses LC (liquid chromatography) time scales, providing a much faster approach to method development and optimization. It is expected to improve efficiency and boost productivity.

“We are delivering on the promise of our initial collaboration announcement with AB SCIEX one year ago,” said Jean Lacoursiere, President of Phytronix Technologies. “We are delivering a more comprehensive and truly unmatched tool for drug discovery. We are proving that LDTD-MS/MS is a winning combination.”

By combining the LDTD source with DiscoveryQuant software, it is possible to automatically determine optimal ion path parameters for maximum sensitivity while populating a shared central database with this critical information. DiscoveryQuant can then access this method database for the use in assays with the LDTD source. The output of this new LDTD-MS/MS workflow feeds into compound database libraries that pharmaceutical scientists need to advance their drug discovery & development work and allows researchers to share MS/MS methodologies globallyonline, no matter whether one lab is in Asia, another in the US and a third lab in Europe.

“Working with innovative front-end source providerssuch as Phytronix is part of AB SCIEX’s commitment to the high-throughput market,” said Dave Hicks, Vice President of the Pharmaceutical and Academic Business at AB SCIEX. “With our expertise in software for MS/MS applications, we have extended our partnership with Phytronix to give pharmaceutical scientists access to a novel workflow that pushes the limits.”