Applications and Capabilities

ToF-ToF

The ABRF is equipped with Bruker’s latest MALDI ToF/ToF, the UltrafleXtreme, which combines ultra high resolution and mass accuracy with high speed acquisition to give fast and reliable results.

 

New SmartbeamTM laser technology has a repetition speed of up to 1kHz for ultra-fast acquisition in both MS and MS/MS modes and has the ability to focus down to 10µm in diameter for MALDI imaging.

 

The basic layout of the UltrafleXtreme involves a MALDI source, the drift region comprising of Precursor Ion Selector (PCIS), LIFT region, Post Lift Metastable Suppressor (PLMS) and both a Linear and Reflector detection system.

 

The PCIS is capable of high resolution selection of parent and associated fragments out of a digest mixture.

 

The advanced ToF/ToF, MS/MS module provides highly sensitive and detailed protein identification using Bruker’s LIFTTM ion optics. During ToF-MS the LIFTTM system is removed from the flight path to allow maximum sensitivity and resolution (> 40,000 FWHM in Reflector Positive in MS mode) and is then lowered into place behind the PCIS. LIFT allows the simultaneous detection of both the parent and fragment ions within a single scan by raising the kinetic energies of the parent and fragments such that difference between the parent and smallest fragment does not exceed 30%. This allows the reflector to focus the parent and fragment ions such that they are detected simultaneously at the reflector detector.

 

The UltrafleXtreme system is capable of being run in a fully automated mode and can run up to 384 samples on a single target plate. The ABRF has several targets available to suit individual applications including:

  • Ground Steel        
  • Polished Steel
  • Steel AnchorChips (which allow 10-100 fold increase in sensitivity over standard steel targets)
  •  Plastic storable/disposable Pre-spotted AnchorChips for gel-based and LC-MALDI based proteomic 
  • MALDI imaging Glass slides
  • NALDI target (Nanostructured Laser Desorption Ionisation) for matrix free laser desorption ionisation of low mass organic molecules.

The ABRF’s UltrafleXtreme is complimented with a Bruker Proteineerfc robot for LC-MALDI which deposits post nano-LC separated peptides onto Pre-spotted AnchorChips, MALDI targets and well plates for offline MS and MS/MS analysis.

 

Correct sample preparation is essential for efficient analysis of the ToF/ToF, please contact Nathan for the SOP for this mass spec.

 

MALDI ToF/ToF