Shimadzu’s New LCMS-8060NX Mass Spectrometer Offers Enhanced Performance

Published on: 

Pharmaceutical Technology's In the Lab eNewsletter

In the Lab eNewsletter, Pharmaceutical Technology's In the Lab eNewsletter-07-01-2020, Volume 15, Issue 7
Pages: 54–58

Enhanced sensitivity and ultra-high detection speed provide improved robustness and operability.

Shimadzu has released the LCMS-8060NX triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, which offers enhanced method development and routine analysis. A combination of high sensitivity and high detection speeds further improves ease-of-use and robustness. The system offers greater operating efficiency to pharmaceutical companies needing to shorten drug discovery periods or reduce costs, clinical firms that handle complex biological samples, and entities in food science involved in investigating residual pesticides, among others, the company announced in a June 9, 2020 press release.

In general, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS) solutions provide the high selectivity, reliability, productivity, and sensitivity required in many industries. In particular, the new LCMS-8060NX enhances all these features and further strengthens Shimadzu's triple-quadrupole MS capabilities:

Advertisement

  • World-class sensitivity and detection speed: the LCMS-8060NX offers among the highest sensitivity and detection speeds in the world, according to Shimadzu, and includes internal mechanical improvements to promote sample ionization. This enables high-sensitivity analysis even for compounds that are difficult to ionize.

  • High robustness minimizes downtime: the newly introduced IonFocus unit reduces instrument contamination by guiding ions to the interior more efficiently and removing unwanted components, which helps to prevent decreases in detection accuracy or sensitivity. In addition, more robust components are used in ion-focusing, enabling more reliable analysis. The LCMS-8060NX therefore offers both higher sensitivity analysis and lower downtime.

  • Greater ease-of-use for greater workflow efficiency: the system includes several “Analytical Intelligence” functions to maximize analysis throughput and improve the operational efficiency and productivity of the entire workflow, from preparations for analysis through to data processing. For example, it includes a new ionization unit that is capable of high-sensitivity analysis without the need for complicated adjustments and enables more efficient method development, as well as functions to start up or shut down analytical instruments automatically in combination with a Shimadzu Nexera LC system.

  • Flexibility of a common platform: Shimadzu’s LC–MS range from single to triple quadrupole systems enables more compounds to be screened in less runs while increasing sensitivity and data quality. Many accessories, software, data banks, and method packages complement the systems. Depending on the need for sensitivity in the lab, one model always fits, bringing robustness while keeping the flexibility to upgrade at a later stage as soon as requirements change.

Source: Shimadzu