Agilent Technologies Announces Plans to Extend Triple-Quad’s Mass Range

Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A) today announced plans for a significant upgrade to the Agilent 6410 triple quadrupole (QQQ) mass spectrometer that will benefit researchers involved in biomarker validation and other proteomics applications. The instrument’s mass range will be extended to 2,000 m/z from the current 1,650 m/z. The extension will be available as an upgrade in tandem with the release of a new version of Agilent’s MassHunter Workstation software, MassHunter B.01.03, in September.

MassHunter provides automated tuning for Agilent’s HPLC Chip, a microfluidic chip-based technology for nanoflow liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Together, MassHunter and the HPLC Chip enable easy-to-use, robust nanoflow liquid chromatography separation and nanoelectrospray ionization. With the MassHunter and HPLC Chip system combination, the Agilent 6410 QQQ can enable specific small molecule assays and can quantify peptides in serum or plasma digests at the attomole level, using optimized multiple reaction monitoring scans.

The Agilent 6410 provides femotogram-level (10-15 grams) sensitivity and the lowest cost of ownership in its class. Ion optics enhances ion transmission and spectral resolution. A collision cell design optimizes MS/MS fragmentation and eliminates cross-talk without sacrificing signal strength. These features facilitate high-throughput target compound analysis for quantitating trace organic compounds in dirty matrices for such applications as food safety and environmental testing, among many others.

MassHunter Workstation software provides intuitive and powerful instrument control, data acquisition, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, and reporting for Agilent 6410 QQQ systems.