New Bruker ionBooster dramatically improves LOQ and LOD for various compounds on UHR-TOF systems and amaZon ion traps with MSn capabilities

Bruker released its high-sensitivity ionBooster, a new ion source to meet the increasing demands for sensitivity enhancements in environmental analysis, food testing and forensics. Sensitivity gains of 5x to 100x are achievable for many compounds extending the quantitative capability of modern accurate-mass MS systems to the sensitivity range of high-end triple-quadrupole instruments.

The ion source enhances sensitivity and lowers detection limits by delivering more efficient ionization across a wide range of applications. Inside the ionBooster, an electrospray is maintained at a controlled vaporizing temperature to enable enhanced desolvation of the analyte ions, even at high eluent flow rates in UHPLC separations with sharp chromatographic peaks. The exact response with the ionBooster depends upon the type of compound and its specific chemical characteristics and thermal properties.

A gain in sensitivity, delivered by ionBooster provides significant enhancement in response for chloramphenicol (CAP) compared with standard ESI. Such a development is of great importance, as there is zero-tolerance for Chloramphenicol, a broad-spectrum antibiotic drug, in any food in the EU. An LOQ more than 100-fold better than the minimum required performance level (MRPL) can be achieved with ionBooster. In combination with maXis™ impact, Bruker’s latest UHR-TOF system, accurate-mass data is obtained across the full mass range, enabling qualitative analysis of unknowns, analysis of multiple drugs or target compounds, and retrospective screening of data for any target formula.