Agilent Technologies Inc. has expanded the use of its revolutionary, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) chip to its triple quadrupole (QQQ) and quadrupole-time of flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometers. The move enables both of these chip/mass spectrometer systems to perform small molecule analysis and completes the chip's expansion across Agilent's entire liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) portfolio.
Agilent's HPLC chip technology is an innovative form of liquid chromatography separation that replaces conventional LC nanoflow column and microvalves with a simple, compact microfluidics chip.
Smaller than a credit card, the chip seamlessly integrates the sample enrichment and separation capability of a nanoflow LC system with the single emitter per instrument and intricate connections used for electrospray mass spectrometry. The technology eliminates 50 percent of the fittings and connections typically required in nanoflow LC/MS systems, dramatically reducing the possibility of leaks and dead volumes, and significantly improving ease-of-use, sensitivity, productivity and reliability during analysis.
Agilent's HPLC Chip technology delivers stable, reproducible nanospray, critical for high-sensitivity quantitative QQQ applications for small molecules. The expansion announced today enables researchers to move beyond the HPLC chip's early protein-identification applications to the small molecule arena.
"Where sample size is limited, quantitative nanospray on the QQQ in particular will offer special opportunities, providing substantial savings to customers in sample preparation alone," said Agilent's Fred Strohmeier, vice president and general manager, Liquid Phase Separations Division. "It will have special use for life sciences, environmental and forensic applications, where researchers often deal with low amounts of sample.
"For these applications, conventional nanospray isn't reliable enough for routine use and is difficult to implement and maintain," said Strohmeier. "With the HPLC chip, in combination with Agilent's LC/MS portfolio, it's finally accessible for these applications -- and in a remarkably easy-to-use format."
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