Bruker Highlights Analytical Solutions and Systems at Pittcon

During the week of Pittcon 2018, Bruker showcased various updated analytical systems and new high-value analysis solutions, including those for pharmaceutical and clinical research applications. Pittcon was held in Orlando, FL, from Feb. 26-Mar. 1, 2018.

"Our new analytical instruments and solutions shown at Pittcon 2018 demonstrate our close collaborations with analytical and research customers, whom we endeavor to support with new enabling tools. Our focus at Pittcon 2018 is on applied, pharma, clinical phenomics, and proteomics applications, as well as on materials research and nanotechnology markets, and on education," said Frank H. Laukien, PhD, Bruker's president and CEO, in a company press release.

Pharma and quality control

MPA II. Bruker's new multi purpose analyzer (MPA) II is a next-generation MPA, which employs Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy for quick and reliable quantitative pharmaceutical quality control (QC). The MPA II uses advanced optics for performance and stability as well as advanced lasers and long-lifetime light sources to enhance robustness and reduce maintenance costs.

IR microscopy. To strengthen its technology portfolio for infrared (IR) microscopy, Bruker acquired IRM², a developer of high-speed IR microscopes based on quantum cascade laser (QCL) technology, on Feb. 22, 2018. IRM2's QCL platform provides IR imaging with detector arrays at high speed. The technology uses a proprietary coherence reduction technique that delivers advanced image quality, so that large areas can be studied more rapidly and at high resolution, according to Bruker.

BioPharma Compass 3.0. The mass-spectrometry BioPharma Compass 3.0 solution now includes clone selection and MALDI release identity testing to enhance biopharmaceutical characterization. It supports both high-resolution electrospray ionization (ESI) and MALDI mass spectrometry (MS) for comprehensive characterization. New butterfly plots allow for sub-unit and intact mass analysis for batch-to-batch comparisons, or originator versus biosimilars analysis. Regulated rapid release identity testing employs MALDI to support "pack and fill" QC. MALDI is used in clone screening with intact Fc/2 glycan profiles in applications where speed is beneficial, according to the company.

Clinical phenomics and proteomics

IVDr-by-NMR. Bruker is now offering its established in-vitro diagnostic research-by-nuclear magnetic resonance (IVDr-by-NMR) solution for phenomics research in biobanking applications to assess sample quality with rigorous standard operating procedures It can provide reliable, quantitative data on 150 metabolic biomarkers in urine in a single experiment under full automation, with high throughput and at low cost per sample.

MetaboScape software. Flow injection analysis-magnetic resonance mass spectrometry (FIA-MRMS) is a new workflow for phenomics research and validation, where MS is complementary to NMR. FIA-MRMS can generate molecular formulae for >1000 medium level metabolites and reveals new metabolites not seen in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). With MetaboScape software, high-confidence metabolite annotation is based on MRMS extreme mass resolution >1 million and mass accuracy ~0.2 ppm. High throughput, LC-free FIA measures >200 samples/day, enabling large cohorts and longitudinal studies in phenomics.

Integration of timsTOF with Evosep ONE. Bruker's revolutionary timsTOF (time of flight) Pro mass spectrometer for high sensitivity proteomics can now be integrated with the Evosep ONE separation device for high-throughput clinical proteomics. Evosep One is a new chromatography system for large cohort proteomics, optimized for >200 samples/day and > 90% MS utilization. Its LC peak widths of ~2 s for ~5-min gradients have been combined with the parallel accumulation-serial fragmentation (PASEF) method on the timsTOF Pro with MS/MS rates >150 Hz. This new combination delivers advanced sensitivity (50ng HeLa) and high throughput for label-free quantification (LFQ) of ~1200 proteins in ~5 min. For large sample cohorts, this enables biomarker research and validation on >200 samples per day, which is considered a breakthrough for future clinical proteomics, according to the company.

Source: Bruker