Applied Biosystems and its partner, MDS Sciex, has announced the introduction of the 4800 MALDI TOF/TOF analyser, which is claimed to be the most sensitive MALDI TOF/TOF mass spectrometer for identifying and quantifying protein biomarkers.
Mass spectrometry for protein biomarkers
The 4800 MALDI TOF/TOF analyser achieves a 10-fold increase in sensitivity over existing systems and offers unparalleled experimental efficiency using powerful, automated workflows, making it an ideal solution for protein biomarker discovery. The 4800 MALDI TOF/TOF analyser combines the companiesÆ TOF/TOF optics technology with the special OptiBeam on-axis laser, which increases the number of ions directed into the ion path to achieve the dramatic increase in sensitivity. In addition, the enhanced QuanTIS precursor ion allows users to isolate the precursor ions designated for MS/MS more specifically, thus achieving more accurate and easier-to-interpret results. Proprietary iTRAQ and ICAT reagents, which are fully compatible with the new analyser, further enable biomarker discovery by permitting relative and absolute protein quantitation. The increased sensitivity and expanded dynamic range of this new matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisationûtime-of-flight MS analyser permits high-confidence protein identification and enables multiplex studies to be performed.