10 – timsMetabo
4D separation for small molecule analysis
Produced by Bruker Corporation
timsMetabo brings trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS) to metabolomics and lipidomics, adding a fourth dimension of separation – orthogonal mobility – to conventional mass spectrometry. The system enhances resolution and sensitivity while improving annotation confidence for complex samples. Built specifically for small molecule analysis, timsMetabo enables confident differentiation of isomers, reduces matrix interferences, and improves reproducibility in metabolomic and lipidomic workflows.
What the judges say…
“The new highest performance TIMS.”
Insights from Small Molecule Bioanalysis lead Matthew Lewis
Please introduce yourself and your role
My name is Matthew Lewis, and I lead the Small Molecule Bioanalysis business unit at Bruker Daltonics. Most of my 25 years of hands-on research experience have been spent in the metabolomics and lipidomics fields immersed in the challenges and intricacies of method development and application. Today, I’m privileged to draw from those insights while working alongside brilliant research, development, and application scientists to innovate new tools and technologies that enable the next generation of small molecule research.
What inspired or sparked the idea behind this innovation?
The timsMetabo was born from a clear and deliberate ambition: to confront the conventional trade-offs in small molecule mass spectrometry head-on. We wanted to enable simultaneous sensitivity, selectivity, precision, accuracy, speed, and reliability – not in theory, but for real-world, day-to-day use. We also wanted to push the limits of what TIMS technology and mobility-based ion sorting can achieve in small molecule applications. The project team stayed close to well-defined problems (for example, the need for improved confidence in automated metabolite annotation) and listened carefully to the people experiencing them. That proximity gave us clarity, and it helped us navigate setbacks, reframe challenges, and ultimately find our way forward. The result is our best small molecule system yet and a real multiomics enabler.
How has the timsMetabo been received so far?
The reception has been fantastic, putting wind in our sails as we extend the horizon of what we can do in this application space. Together, I believe we’ve delivered more than a product: we’ve built momentum for dedicated advancements to benefit the small molecule research community.
Any innovation lessons you’d like to share?
If there’s one lesson I’d share, it’s this: innovation is not about perfection, it’s about persistence. Stay close to the problem. Stay closer to the people. And never underestimate the power of a team united by purpose.
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