Thermo Fisher Scientific Introduces New High-Field Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer at ASMS 2011

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today introduced a new milestone in Orbitrap™ technology, the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Elite. The Orbitrap Elite™ hybrid mass spectrometer integrates Thermo Scientific’s faster, more sensitive ion trap - the Thermo Scientific Velos Pro - with the company’s new high-field Orbitrap and advanced signal processing technologies. The system offers outstanding resolving power of 240,000, previously available only on Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometers, as well as a range of fragmentation techniques, helping customers explore and address the most complex challenges in proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics and metabolism applications. The new mass spectrometer can be seen in the Thermo Scientific hospitality suite at the Hyatt Regency in Centennial Ballroom D during the 59th Annual ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, from June 5–9 in Denver.

“Thermo Scientific Orbitrap technology is the recognized standard for accurate mass and high-resolution measurement,” said Thomas Moehring, product manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “With the introduction of the high-field Orbitrap and advanced signal processing technology, we created a new standard in ultrahigh resolution and accurate mass for laboratories performing comprehensive proteomics and metabolism studies.”

The Orbitrap Elite embodies multiple advanced technologies including its mass analyzer geometry, unique signal processing, new ion-transfer optics that improve ion beam transmission into the Orbitrap mass analyzer and a new image current pre-amplifier. These capabilities are coupled with new Velos Pro™ ion trap technology - linear detection electronics, fast scanning and neutral-blocking front-end ion optics - to enhance overall system quantitative performance, speed and uptime. The sum of these unique innovations offers:

• Maximum resolving power of greater than 240,000 FWHM at m/z 400

• An amazing four-fold increase in scan speed for increased precision and confidence in quantitative results, and enhanced compatibility with UHPLC.

• More high-quality, higher-energy collisional induced dissociation (HCD) spectra and FTMSn spectral fragmentation trees for confident structural elucidation.

• Exceptional sensitivity for the detection of very low abundance proteins, peptides and metabolites.


New possibilities for comprehensive proteomics

For top-down protein characterization, the very high resolution and sensitivity of the Orbitrap Elite enables laboratories to improve the determination of the molecular weights of intact proteins. It also helps achieve higher protein sequence coverage when using complementary fragmentation techniques such as collision-induced dissociation (CID), electron transfer dissociation (ETD) and HCD. These features also facilitate determination of the exact locations of mutations and post-translation modifications (PTMs). With the versatility of multiple fragmentation techniques, even the most complex PTMs including glycans are accessible.

For bottom-up proteomics experiments, the Orbitrap Elite offers laboratories greater proteome coverage through improved protein, PTM and peptide identification, even at low abundances. For quantitative proteomics, higher system speed and sensitivity increase the number of quantifiable peptides when using isobaric labeling methods such as tandem mass tags (TMT).

New possibilities for metabolomics and metabolism research

For metabolomics, lipidomics and metabolism studies, the Orbitrap Elite offers the suberb quality HCD and MSn spectra, providing richer structural information for unambiguous metabolite identification. Compared to previous systems, remarkably high sensitivity enables detection of more metabolites and other important sample components. The system’s high resolution is ideally suited to resolving isobaric species such as those required for the analysis of lipids.

For increased confidence in quantitative results, ultra high resolution and accurate mass, fast scanning and linear detection work together to reduce matrix interferences, enhance reproducibility and provide greater accuracy. For comprehensive metabolite studies, the Orbitrap Elite offers both qualitative and quantitative workflows in a single high-performance system.

For more information about the Orbitrap Elite, as well as other new Thermo Scientific products, please visit the Thermo Scientific hospitality suite at the Hyatt Regency in Centennial Ballroom D at ASMS 2011. Alternatively, please visit the company article page.