Overview
Waters’ Micromass Q-Tof Ultima API is an oa-Tof mass spectrometer enabled automated exact mass measurement with the ultimate performance in MS and MS/MS. The instrument features optimised resolution, enhanced ion optics for enhanced sensitivity, a quadrupole mass filter and a collision cell for MS/MS analyses. This powerful combination delivers simple exact mass measurement of precursor and fragment ions with maximum sensitivity to yield the highest confidence in structural elucidation and databank search results.
The Ultimate in MS and MS/MS Performance
The Micromass Q-Tof Ultima API provides enhanced resolution and sensitivity with all the benefits of exact mass measurement in MS and MS/MS. These features are also accessible over an enhanced linear dynamic range, enabling rapid and reliable quantification. In combination these features provide the highest quality information on elemental composition, structural characteristics and unsurpassed specificity for identifying and characterising even the lowest abundance compounds in complex matrices.
Why Exact Mass MS & MS/MS?
So, do you really know the mass of your compound? Are you confident that you’ve identified the correct component? As with every analytical tool, the more accurately you make your measurement the more confidence you'll have in your results. Exact mass measurement enables you to determine the elemental composition of compounds with greater confidence. When you detect a drug metabolite at 500.2 m/z in an in vivo sample, are you sure which bio-transformation has taken place? When you detect a peptide at 976.6 m/z, can you be sure which posttranslational modification is present?
With exact mass measurement you can:
- Determine elemental composition
- Distinguish nominally isobaric components
- Improve specificity of detection for MS/MS analyses
- Improve data processing speed and specificity
The inherent high resolution and mass accuracy of an orthogonal time-of-flight (oa-ToF) mass spectrometer minimizes co-eluting and matrix interferences, enabling components of interest to be resolved. Automated exact mass measurements can then be performed "on the fly".
Why Exact Mass MS/MS?
Exact mass measurement becomes an increasingly powerful tool for determining elemental composition at lower m/z values, and is therefore particularly useful for identification of fragment ions in MS/MS. With the increased accuracy of exact mass measurement, peptide sequencing and the elucidation of small molecule structures is significantly enhanced. Data processing tools for automated interpretation rely heavily on the specificity of exact mass measurements.
With exact mass MS/MS you can:
- Eliminate false positive protein ID's apparent in nominal mass data
- De novo sequence peptides with the highest level of confidence
- Identify elemental composition of structural fragments
- Gain excellent specificity for quantitative analyses
A Powerful Technology Platform
The Q-Tof Ultima API provides a powerful platform for MS and MS/MS analyses, upon which total system solutions may be designed to maximize data quality for your application.
The Q-Tof Ultima API Mass Spectrometer offers:
- ZSpray™ - dual orthogonal source technology for unsurpassed sensitivity and ruggedness
- High Sensitivity – Enhanced source and ion optics technology (including MASStransit ion tunnels) enable a significantly increase in the transmission of ions from the source to the oa-Tof detector.
- High Resolution - Up to 17,500 FWHM with Woptics
- High mass accuracy - sub 5 ppm RMS in both MS and MS/MS modes of acquisition across the mass range, with Voptics or Woptics.
- Routine Exact Mass – LockSpray, NanoLockSpray and MUX Exact-Mass Technology enable routine exact mass measurement in MS and MS/MS specific to your application and throughput requirements.
- oa-ToF analyser - wide acquisition range of up to 32, 000 m/z
- Digital Dead Time Correction™ - Extended linear dynamic range (~103) for exact mass quantitative analysis in conjunction with a large surface area MCP detector.
- Ease of use - wizard-driven system configuration and method editing for simplified operation
- Data Directed Analysis (DDA™) - Exploitation of the inherent high resolution and mass measurement accuracy of Micromass Q-Tof technology for highly intelligent detection of compounds of interest for automated switching from MS to MS/MS.
- Precursor Ion Discovery (PID) - patented acquisition techniques for class-specific analyses (i.e. detection of specific structural motifs) using exact neutral loss or product ion detection
- Variable Flow Chromatography - with the Waters CapLC® System for enhanced MS/MS data quality
