Orbitrap Exploris 480, Thermo

This high resolution MS system has an ESI ion source and a nanoFlex ion source and the mass analyzer is an Orbitrap. This system is coupled with a Vanquish nanoLC. The high resolution and high sensitivity provided by this system is useful in shotgun proteomics applications of discovery nature. There are specialized data analysis software suits for analysis of the raw data, namely Proteome Discoverer and Spectranaut. This system is well known for in-depth proteomic profiling of the sample, label and label-free quantification of the proteins in a complex mixture. This is well suited for comparative proteomics studies leading to biomarker identification for various disease conditions etc.

Synapt XS, Waters

This is a high resolution MS with an interesting option of changing the ion sources from ESI, nanoESI and MALDI (matrix assisted laser desorption ionization). For ESI and nanoESI application, it can be coupled with the M-Class UPLC from Waters and can be used for various shotgun proteomics, lipidomics, metabolomics applications. The main mass analyzer is TOF and the system is equipped with Ion Mobility Separation of the ions, providing separation between molecules of same molecular weight but different conformations. Since this system also has an option of Electron Transfer Dissociation (ETD), this is suitable for identification and characterization of the post-translational modifications (PTMs). With MALDI as an ion source, this system can be utilized for tissue MALDI imaging. The data analysis software available is Progenesis QIP and MassLynx.

Xevo TQ Absolute, Waters

This is a low resolution MS system with three quadrupole mass analyzers in series. It is coupled with an H-Class UPLC and has an ESI ion source. This system is best suited for targeted proteomics studies, where absolute or relative quantification of the protein/peptide/small molecule of interest can be done using single or multiple reactions monitoring technique (SRM/ MRM) and its variations. The unparalleled sensitivity provided by the MRM assay can be used to track extremely low amounts of compounds of interest in the given sample. The analysis software MassLynx software helps in analyzing the data of targeted quantification experiments

TripleTOF 5600 plus, SCIEX

This is a high resolution MS with nanoESI (electrospray ionization) source and nanoLC coupled with it. The main mass analyzer is Time-of-Flight (TOF). This system is useful for shotgun proteomic experiments of qualitative and quantitative nature. The patented SWATH technology of Sciex helps in increasing the depth of the proteomic identification as well as label-free quantification, and thereby able to identify the proteins with very low expression. Along with that, the system can also be used for label-based quantification of proteins. The analysis software ProteinPilot is useful for qualitative and quantitative proteomics studies.