Thermo Fisher Scientific Orbitrap LC-MS Systems Now Equipped with IonSense ID-CUBE Ion Source

Laboratories analyzing food, pharmaceuticals, neutraceuticals, and other complex samples can now purchase Thermo Scientific Q-Exactive and Exactive Plus LC-MS systems equipped from the factory with IonSense ID-CUBE™ ion sources. This configuration is designed to minimize the need for sample preparation to simplify and speed analyses.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has entered into a value added reseller agreement with IonSense, Inc. to permit Thermo Fisher to sell the ID-CUBE ion source with its two Orbitrap-based LC-MS systems, providing a single point of contact for purchasing, installation and service.

“One of our core values is to make the benefits of powerful mass spectrometry more accessible to larger populations of users,” said Mari Prieto Conaway, product manager, ion sources, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “IonSense shares this vision, and these ion sources support it by greatly simplifying analytical workflows.”

“We are very pleased to expand our relationship with Thermo Fisher,” said Brian Musselman, IonSense president and CEO. “We already have numerous customers using our sources with the Thermo Scientific Exactive systems for pesticide detection, forensics identification, and screening for product quality, and we are excited to further accelerate customers’ work with this new combined offering.”

With the ID-CUBE, a drop of sample is placed onto a metal screen of the IonSense OpenSpot™ Sample Card, which is inserted into the ion source. The screen is quickly heated and the sample is ionized using IonSense’s proprietary Direct Analysis in Real Time (DART®) technology. Ions are then detected by the mass spectrometer in seconds. IonSense promotes the technique as being dramatically faster than conventional separation techniques, requiring minimal training, and producing no solvent waste.

The Thermo Scientific Q Exactive LC-MS system combines quadrupole precursor selection with high-resolution, accurate-mass (HRAM) Orbitrap detection designed for high-confidence identification, quantitation and confirmation. The Thermo Scientific Exactive Plus Orbitrap LC-MS is a benchtop instrument designed for high-performance screening, compound identification and quantitation for high-throughput applications such as environmental analysis, food testing, pharmaceutical QA/QC and forensics.