New Platform for Faster Separation and Quantification of Metabolites in Rapeseeds

Dionex announces a new platform developed to measure various metabolites in Brassica napus seeds. This method combines separation using the 1 mm IonSwift™ MAX-100 anion-exchange column and ICS-3000 system and detection with the API 4000™ electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) system from AB SCIEX.

This combination provides a simple, rapid, specific, and sensitive method for the simultaneous detection and quantification of several primary metabolites involved in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and glycolysis pathway. Compared to the previously used method, the IonSwift MAX-100 column facilitates shorter run times and helps achieve better sensitivity.

This new platform combines Dionex ion chromatography (IC) and triple quadrupole MS. The IC tandem mass spectrometry (IC-MS/MS) technique provides a good tool to identify and quantify metabolites in a complex matrix. The biological pathways include many homologs and structural isomers with the same mass and analog fragmentations, so it is essential for the analysis to provide good resolution and specific identification of the different compounds.