NRC and AB SCIEX to collaborate to develop ‘turnkey’ methods for mass spectrometers

Halifax, NS – The National Research Council’s Institute for Marine Biosciences (NRC-IMB) says it has signed an agreement with AB SCIEX that will enable researchers worldwide to benefit from NRC-IMB’s expertise in the detection and identification of marine and freshwater biotoxins and the creation of Certified Reference Materials (CRMs).

Dr Michael Quilliam and researchers in the Certified Reference Material Program are undertaking a project to incorporate NRC-IMB’s methods for the comprehensive analysis of marine and freshwater biotoxins into AB SCIEX’s LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry) system workflows. The experimental parameters and data they collect will be integrated with AB SCIEX Cliquid^TM Software to produce automated ‘turnkey’ methods and workflows such as the iMethods^TM software and methods offered by AB SCIEX. These methods and the associated CRMs produced at NRC-IMB will enable researchers to easily screen shellfish and freshwater samples for the presence of toxins.

An AB SCIEX QTRAP^® 5500 System has recently been installed at NRC-IMB. The instrument has the capability to gather both qualitative and quantitative information in the same analytical run. The methods, data and CRMs produced at NRC-IMB will help further the ability of the QTRAP system to detect and identify toxins and determine their concentrations in a given sample.