Ionics 3Q Molecular Analyzer and MolAna Acquisition and Quantitaion Software

By IONICS Mass Spectrometry Group Inc.

IONICS Mass Spectrometry Group Inc. from Bolton, Canada is now introducing, recently announced new product, a new triple quadrupole mass spectrometer and data acquisition and processing system; the IONICS 3Q Molecular AnalyzerTM and MolAnaTM, respectively.

The IONICS 3Q Molecular Analyzer^TM triple quadrupole mass spectrometer is a new generation instrument that incorporates many novel technology advancements.  "The Ionics 3Q Molecular Analyzer has many unique features leading to the highest sensitivity, ease of use and ruggedness", said Dr. Reza Javahery, President.  We are extremely proud of our new design, unique four stage pumping configuration, with its high sensitivity, small footprint, sophisticated diagnostics, easy serviceability, and low maintenance."

The IONICS 3Q Molecular Analyzer^TM triple quadrupole mass spectrometer is equipped with a single or dual atmospheric pressure electrospray or chemical ionization source, multiple pressure stages, a collision cell, two resolving rods, and a pulse counting detector capable of high dynamic range.  A vertical ion path provides uniquely small instrument footprint. 

 "The ion transport from the source through the interface and all the way through to the first quadrupole is "flow based" along the ion path with gradually decreasing pressure. This technology significantly improves ion transmission and ease of use." said Dr. Lisa Cousins, Vice President Research. "We worked extensively for a long time with our collaborators from the industry and academia, and we are convinced we were able to provide the instrument they were asking for."

MolAna^TM, developed for Ionics by Phenomenome Discoveries Inc. (PDI) of Saskatoon Canada, is a complete data acquisition and quantitation software package that is designed to work in today's multi-instrument, multi-vendor laboratory environments.  In addition to an innovative workflow inspired instrument control interface, MolAna^TM introduces new universal quantitation package that enables the user to extract and perform quantitation from data collected in virtually any analysis mode from virtually any instrument vendor.  These functionalities are fully integrated with PDI's patented non-targeted biomarker discovery technology, Phenomenome Profiler^TM.

"IONICS has developed a truly remarkable triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The ease at which the Ionics 3Q Molecular Analyzer^TM can be multiplexed, remotely monitored, diagnosed, and maintained will revolutionize the large scale use of triple quadrupole mass spectrometers" said Dr. Dayan B. Goodenowe, President/CEO of PDI.  Phenomenome is honored to have been entrusted to develop workflow, acquisition, and processing software worthy of the hardware.  MolAna^TM will change the way you think about laboratory integration."

The new instrument and software design provides the great ease of use. "After the great success of our HSID Interface and our other upgrade products and, developing our own instrument was a natural continuation," explained Dr. Dragan Vuckovic, VP Sales. "We worked and are still working closely with many people from environmental, clinical, bio-analytical, food and other industries to provide the instrument that will meet their needs and help us define the right features for the right target market".

Some technical details of Ionics 3Q Molecular Analyzer:
Footprint: 50x50 cm²
Overall Size: 50x50x110 cm³
Sensitivity: Highly competitive
Mass range: 1400amu @ 1.2MHz
Speed: 10,000 amu/s minimum
Resolution: 5-10K @high speed & 10% transmission
Polarity switching: 20ms
Source: ESI and APCI
Dynamic range: over 4 orders of magnitude
MRM: T_Pause and T_dwell <5ms
Axial field: MP2 and collision cell
In front CID: The most efficient
Ease of use: Minimal number of settings
User interface: Fully computerized
Chemical Noise: Very low

Optional instrument features:   
Dual Source: simultaneous two ECI and/or APCI probes
Dual mode detector: negative and positive mode detection within 100µs 
Embedded nitrogen generator
Embedded dry rotary pump

Ionics 3Q Molecular Analyzer will be available for demo in late March this year, and it will be first exhibited at 57th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, May 31 - June 4, 2009, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The instrument is scheduled to start shipping very shortly after that, during the summer of this year.

About IONICS Mass Spectrometry Group: Ionics has been incorporated in 2000 in Canada and has its European headquarters in Almere, The Netherlands, with branches in UK, Germany and France. It is a company with many years of experience in the science and engineering of mass spectrometers.  Ionics has started as a performance enhancement company for older mass spectrometers, and Ionics upgrades are still offered and supported. The upgrade line of products includes the following**:

Ionics EP 10+ System          Upgrade system for AB-Sciex API 300/365 instruments

Ionics EP Q+ System           Upgrade system for AB-Sciex API 2000 instruments

Ionics HSID++ Interface     Enhancement for AB-Sciex API 3000, AB-Sciex QSTAR and EP 10+ instruments

The upgrade products typically result in significant sensitivity increase, better ruggedness, more stability and very often more functionality, as well as in less instrument maintenance.

More details on Ionics 3Q Molecular Analyzer, upgrade line of products and other activities of IONICS Mass Spectrometry Group can be found on the company's web sites: www.ionics.ca and www.ionicsmsv.eu in Europe.

*IONICS 3Q Molecular Analyzer^TM and MolAna^TM software are the trade marks of IONICS Mass Spectrometry Group, Inc.

**API 300/365, API 2000, API 3000 and QSTAR are registered trademarks of Applied Biosystems and MDS Analytical Technologies.  EP 10+, EP Q+ and HSID are trademarks of Ionics Mass Spectrometry Group.