AB SCIEX introduced the Triple Quad 3500 MS, a lower-tier triple-quadrupole LC/MS system, which replaces the API 3200. The system features improvements in scan speed, polarity switching and sensitivity over its predecessor. Designed for routine food- and environmental-testing labs, the system employs the TurboV ion source for reliable quantitation over a wide range of flow rates and can analyze more than 200 pesticide residues in food samples in a single injection, according to the company. The instrument is priced around $200,000.

AB SCIEX also launched the TripleTOF 6600 Q-TOF MS. It offers five orders of improvement in dynamic range and a wider Q1 mass range for ions up to 2250 m/z. The system provides an improved mass resolution of 30,000 in high-resolution TOF MS/MS mode and scan speeds of up to 100 MS/MS per second. The TripleTOF 6600 is priced around $650,000.

AB SCIEX launched SWATH 2.0 software for use with the 6600, which incorporates a data-independent acquisition strategy. Proteomics researchers can fragment every detectable peptide in a sample and acquire quantitative MS/MS data, increasing the capacity of targeted-proteomics experiments and reducing study time.

Agilent Technologies introduced the 7010 triple-quadrupole GC/MS system, which is capable of attogram-level detection limits and improved sensitivity. The 7010 features a newly designed, high-efficiency EI source that creates 20 times more ions than current EI sources. As a result, users can inject smaller volumes of sample, scale down sample preparation volumes and eliminate preconcentration steps. Additionally, users can add more compounds to target panels by lowering the dwell times of existing targets. The new EI source technology is available for existing users of the Agilent 7000C system as an upgrade package. The price of the Agilent 7010 GC/MS ranges from $200,000 to $250,000.

Agilent also launched the 6495 triple-quadrupole LC/MS system. The instrument incorporates iFunnel technology, new Q1 ion optics, a curved collision cell and a new ion detector. The system is targeted at routine quantitative analysis in life science, food and environmental applications. Key applications include drug and protein quantitation in pharmaceutical samples and pesticide analysis in environmental and food matrices. Priced at around half a million dollars, a system purchase also includes a two-year service contract.

Agilent introduced the 6120VL single-quadrupole mass detector. Designed for chromatographers wanting more than UV/Vis or PDA detectors, the entry-level, value-line MS system is based on the 6120 single-quadrupole MS. The system’s price starts at about $60,000, allowing academia, industrial and pharmaceutical labs to add another level of sensitivity and specificity. The system is fully upgradeable and available with different ion sources.

Agilent showcased its 6560 ion mobility (IM) Q-TOF MS system, which features an added dimension of molecular-shape separation via an IM device in front of the Q-TOF instrument. The system is designed for resolving complex samples, with applications in metabolite analysis, protein-biomarker analysis, protein characterization, metabolite-coverage maps and food safety. The IM device operates under uniform low-field conditions, allowing drift-time information to be converted to collision cross-section information. Ion funnel technology increases ion sampling, resulting in higher-quality MS/MS spectra at low-femtogram detection limits. The system can be used for greater separation of lipids and glycopeptides, and collision cross-section measurements can be used to confirm the identity of structural isomers. The system can be operated in IM- and Q-TOF-only modes. It is priced around $900,000.

Bruker introduced the impact II ultrahigh-resolution Q-TOF MS, which has greater than 50,000 full-sensitivity resolution. The system is designed for trace analysis in complex matrices for applications such as proteomics, biomarker research, impurity identification and residue screening. The impact II features high-sensitivity, broad mass-transfer ion optics and fast 50 Gbit/sec. sampling technology that delivers a dynamic range of five orders of magnitude at UHPLC speeds, with up to 50 Hz spectrum acquisition. It provides isotopic-pattern accuracy, which is required for reliable molecular-formula determination of low-abundant compounds. The system can be used for identification and quantification of proteomics samples including bottom-up proteomics, glycomics and identification of post-translational modifications. The impact II is priced from $350,000 to $500,000.

Shimadzu launched the triple-quadrupole GCMS-TQ8040 with Smart MRM (multiple reaction monitoring) technology. It can analyze over 400 compounds in a single MRM run without sacrificing sensitivity or selectivity. Traditional approaches typically require the sample to be separated into two or three runs. The system features high-efficiency sample throughput, quick and easy methods development, and low detection limits. The GCMS-TQ8040 can acquire data in MRM mode or in a synchronous Scan/MRM mode for simultaneous qualitative and quantitative results. The GCMS-TQ8040 starts at around $160,000.

Thermo Fisher Scientific introduced the Thermo Scientific TSQ 8000 Evo triple-quadruple GC/MS system that employs a new EvoCell technology, which enables triple the sensitivity at the same scan speed. For improved productivity over the TSQ 8000, the system is designed for targeted analyses in which users can screen and quantitate more than 1,000 compounds in a single run at low limits of detection. Key applications include analysis of food, environmental, dioxins, PCBs, pesticides and steroids. The system is currently available for between $200,000 and $250,000.

Waters launched the Xevo TQ-S micro MS, a middle-tier, triple-quadrupole LC/MS system that combines the robustness of the TQ-D MS with the sensitivity of the TQ-S MS. With a lower price point than its bigger brother (the TQ-S MS), the TQ-S micro MS is targeted at food-, environmental- and pesticide-testing applications as well as pharmaceutical bioanalysis and peptide screening. The system features a new Xcelerated Ion Transfer technology, which allows the system to acquire up to 500 MRMs/sec., which is important to labs screening for a wide range of analytes. The benchtop system also incorporates ZSpray and StepWave technologies and, with XIT electronics, an increased full-scan speed capability of up to 15,000 Da/sec. This reduces the impact on the duty cycle when rapidly switching between full-scan and MS/MS acquisition. The system can also be paired with the ionKey/MS ion-source module. Waters expects the system to start shipping in the third quarter with a price range of $300,000 to $400,000.

Waters also launched the Xevo G2-XS QTof MS, which features a newly designed XS collision cell and incorporates Tof-MRM, StepWave and QuanTof technologies. According to the company, the XS collision cell provides a 15-times improvement in sensitivity without loss of resolution. The system is optimized to deliver robust sensitivity and selectivity for detecting low-level compounds. For targeted applications, the system provides a 10-fold improvement in signal to noise in Tof-MRM mode compared to full-scan mode. The system can perform qualitative and quantitative assays of both known and unknown analytes and has a resolving power of greater than 40,000. The Xevo G2-XS QTof works with Waters’s MSE advanced data-acquisition technology that catalogs complex samples in a single analysis for metabolite profiling. The system is priced around $300,000 and will begin shipping at the end of the second quarter.