Making Solutions Routine

Last month, we introduced the Pesticide Explorer Collection and described the “Standard Quan” package. Here, we speak with Dipankar Ghosh, Global Director for Environmental, Food Safety & Industrial Markets at Thermo Fisher Scientific, to discuss the motivation behind the Collection and to reveal the second solution – “Premium Quan”.

What inspired the Pesticide Explorer Collection?

In the food and environmental markets, pesticides are the most common – and the most widely analyzed – contaminants. Despite pesticides being relatively well controlled in developed countries, the global nature of the food chain has increased the risk of a wide range of pesticides appearing in quantities that are higher than regulations allow. Our aim was to save analysts valuable time in the method development process. We provide the sample extraction method, the chromatographic method (with the most suitable column) as well as the MS method and data evaluation tools. In the past, we’ve offered systems and methods independently, but we realized that in routine analytical laboratories there was a real need and demand for pre-developed, robust solutions.

For targeted screening, we offer two triple-quadrupole solutions and a high-resolution accurate mass (HRAM) solution using our Q Exactive Focus platform, which also features in our non-targeted workflow. Importantly, our collection offers solutions for all levels of analysis and for all budgets, which is where we really differentiate ourselves from the competition.

Laboratories that are branching out into pesticide analysis or new to the area of mass spectrometry will particularly benefit from our Pesticide Explorer Collection, which makes the process as smooth as possible. Likewise, laboratories that are expanding to meet growing demand now have a solution that scales up very well indeed.

How was the Collection developed?

Our lab in San Jose, USA, spearheaded the process, but the Special Solutions Center in Dreieich, Germany, was also heavily involved from a method development point of view. We also had solid support from our facilities in Runcorn, UK, and benefited from our HPLC team in Germering, also in Germany. It was a real international effort! Clearly, for such an offering, robustness and reproducibility were of great importance; much of the development time was spent testing the methods on multiple systems with different analysts to ensure that we had made all the right choices, from sample extraction to data evaluation.

What differentiates the Premium Quan solution?

Our second triple-quadrupole-based solution – “Premium Quan” – benefits from the same QuEChERS start-up kit and chromatographic separation (using specially selected columns and the UltiMate 3000 LC system) as the Standard Quan package. The big difference? The TSQ Endura is upgraded to our highest-end triple quadrupole mass spectrometry system – the TSQ Quantiva – to offer the ultimate in sensitivity. In many ways, the Premium Quan solution is for users who wish to make a longer-term investment with a view to not only meet the detection limits of today, but also those of the future.