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Written Artefact Profiling Guide
Written ArtefactProfiling Guide

Photo: CSMC

Written Artefact Profiling Guide

Mass Spectrometer; Ion Mobility Q-TOF Instrument with UHPLC System, Agilent

Agilent 6560 ESI Ion Mobility Q-TOF with Agilent 1290 Infinity UHPLC.

This mass spectrometer (Agilent 6560) enables non-targeted analyses of small molecules as well as peptides with a resolution of app. 40,000 and a mass accuracy of app. 1 ppm. The instrument is equipped with an electrospray ionisation (ESI) source. By integrating an ion mobility cell, isobaric compounds can also be separated from one another and collision cross section (CCS) values can be obtained. The mass analyser is a time-of-flight (TOF) design. The additional coupling with a quadrupole (Q) enables collision experiments. These help to identify unknown molecules. 

The mass spectrometer is coupled with an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) system, which can provide a back pressure of 1,300 bar to be able to carry out liquid chromatographic separations. 

This system can be operated with a direct analysis in real time (DART) ionisation source.  In contrast to the ESI source, no sample preparation is required. The sample only needs to be positioned in front of the DART source. Using a gas like argon, nitrogen or helium, which is excited by an electrical potential difference, ions are first generated with molecules of the atmosphere (water, nitrogen, oxygen). These ions in turn cause secondary ionisation of the analytes from the sample surface, which can then be passed into the high vacuum of a mass spectrometer and analysed accordingly.

  • General description: LC-ESI-MS System with a qTOF analyzer and a ion mobility cell
  • Application aim: metabolite and peptides/proteins
  • Mobility: stationary
  • Equipment specifics:
    • can be operated with a DART source
  • Application requirements: air-conditioned environment with nitrogen supply
  • Sample required: yes
  • Contact required: yes
  • Interaction spot dimensions: depends
  • Set up time: 1 h
  • Average time for measuring: depends on the method, the research issue and the sample between 1 minute and several hours
  • Average time for processing: 1-4 hours 
  • Software package: the system is operated with the manufacturer's software from Agilent
  • Output: .d files
  • Contact: Marina Creydt, marina.creydt"AT"uni-hamburg.de
  • Location of the equipment: Hamburg School of Food Science, HSFS (Grindelallee 117, Hamburg)