Direct Sample Classification by Mass Spectrometry Speeds Creation
of Test Results and Decision-Making
MILFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 1, 2017--
Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) today introduced its new LiveID™
Software for near-instantaneous, direct-from-sample measurement and
classification of food products including meat and crops by Waters’
quadrupole, time-of-flight (QTof) mass spectrometers. The new software
enables Waters®Xevo®
G2-XS QTof or SYNAPT®
G2-Si Mass Spectrometers equipped with an iKnife™ Sampling
device, Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry (REIMS™) ion
source and MassLynx®
Mass Spectrometry Software to help laboratories detect food fraud.
Waters LiveID Software is now available on a worldwide basis.
“Information on food samples separated in time and space from where it
is needed most isn’t efficient and hurts productivity. We’ve designed
LiveID Software to make the process of getting real-time information
about samples as intuitive, as quick and as easy as possible,” said
Ronan O’Malley, Senior Director of Informatics Products, Waters
Corporation.
Food fraud - when food is labelled and sold as something that it is not
- is a growing and pernicious problem that funds organized crime, cheats
consumers and jeopardizes the reputation of food producers and the
health of economies dependent on food exports.
In recent years, QTof mass spectrometry has emerged as a promising
technique for detecting food fraud. One who has pioneered its use for
this application is Professor Chris Elliott, Director – Institute
for Global Food Security, Queens University Belfast. “The REIMS QTof
technology platform has the potential to revolutionize food authenticity
analysis due to its speed and ability to detect multiple issues
simultaneously that impact the integrity of the food we eat. I am not
aware of any other technology developments that will provide this level
of support to the food industry.”
Faster than conventional techniques like immunosassay and PCR, mass
spectrometry enabled by LiveID Software produces definitive results in
seconds. With iKnife Sampling and REIMS, no sample pretreatment or
separation is typically necessary. When the hand-held iKnife sampling
device comes in contact with a sample of animal or plant tissue or other
processed foodstuffs such as butter, it creates smoke containing
compound-specific molecules which are directed to the REIMS source where
the molecules are ionized and then passed on to be detected by the mass
spectrometer. In very little time, the LiveID software then creates a
molecular profile or chemical fingerprint of the sample, compares it to
a user-generated database of reference fingerprints and then classifies
the sample as belonging to one of a number of sample types or groupings.
Waters introduced iKnife Sampling and REIMS technologies to its QTof
mass spectrometers in 2015. Since then, Waters has evolved the design of
the REIMS source to make real-time decision-making using mass
spectrometry straightforward and accessible by researchers who wish to
explore the potential of the technology.
For more information on the Waters LiveID software, see www.waters.com/liveid.
About Waters Corporation (www.waters.com)
Waters
Corporation (NYSE: WAT), the world's leading specialty measurement
company, has pioneered chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal
analysis innovations serving the life, materials and food sciences for
nearly 60 years. With approximately 7,000 employees worldwide, Waters
operates directly in 31 countries, including 15 manufacturing
facilities, and with products available in more than 100 countries.
Waters, Xevo, iKnife, REIMS, MassLynx, SYNAPT and LiveID are trademarks
of Waters Corporation.
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Source: Waters Corporation
Waters Corporation
Brian J. Murphy, +1 508-482-2614
Public
Relations
brian_j_murphy@waters.com