MassTech Inc., a provider of AP-MALDI technology for mass spectrometry today announced that it will develop an Atmospheric Pressure Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (AP/MALDI) ion source for the 4000 Q TRAP® LC/MS/MS System with the assistance of Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX. Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX, the manufacturer of the 4000 Q TRAP® system, is a joint venture between Applied Biosystems Group (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, and MDS Inc. (TSE:MDS; NYSE:MDZ). The 4000 Q TRAP® system is used during most stages of drug discovery and development to identify and quantify peptides, proteins, and small molecules in biological samples.
The combination of AP/MALDI with the 4000 Q TRAP® system should allow scientists to acquire MS/MS data from ions generated by MALDI thus increasing the versatility of the 4000 Q TRAP® instrument. In addition, the users may benefit from Pulsed Dynamic Focusing (PDF), a patented technology from MassTech, Inc. that significantly improves AP/MALDI sensitivity. Since AP/MALDI takes place at atmospheric pressure, sample plates are loaded without breaking vacuum – simplifying operation and greatly increasing sample throughput. The AP/MALDI source will support the standard Applied Biosystems 100-spot plate format and the MassTech proprietary 96-spot plate format, both providing compatibility with robotic systems used for sample deposition.
*Q TRAP is a registered trademark of Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX.