Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.

Tecan Trading Ag

Michael Vogeser

Rupert Herrmann

Uwe Kobold

Albert Geiger

Roland Geyer

Test method checks and compensates ion yield variances in a mass spectrometer and includes feeding an eluate of a chromatographic separation to the spectrometer, continuously ad-mixing a separate target analyte solution at known concentration and constant flow rate to the eluate, injecting the mixture into the spectrometer and generating a detector signal for the mixture. A spectrogram is captured which includes an integration line and a mass-spectrographic peak of the target analyte, the integration line being a lasting background signal underlaid to the mass-spectrometric analysis of the eluate, then evaluating the spectrogram by capturing an integrated mass-spectrographic peak area above the integration line and an area which is found under the integrated peak area of the target analyte by perpendicular drop lines from the peak integration line and forming a mathematical relationship from the determined mass-spectrographic areas.

Functional check and variance compensation in mass spectrometry

The invention concerns a device and a method for the manipulation of a liquid sample material in which magnetic microparticles are suspended whereby the microparticles have a functionalized surface and an analyte is bound to the surface. The sample material is introduced into a device with a liquid system through an injection device () and in a first mobile phase the sample material is carried to an extractor (). In a first section () of the extractor () the microparticles are immobilized by means of a magnetic field of a controllable device () and separated from the remaining sample material. By switching over of a switching unit () a second mobile phase () is carried to the extractor () and the second mobile phase () detaches the adsorbed analyte from the surface of the microparticles. In a second section () of the extractor () the microparticles are immobilized and the second mobile phase () with the dissolved analyte(s) can be analyzed by way of chromatographic separation () and subsequent detection ().

Manipulation of magnetic microparticles in a high pressure liquid system and extraction process

Described are a device and a method for the manipulation of a liquid sample material in which magnetic microparticles are suspended whereby the microparticles have a functionalized surface and an analyte is bound to the surface. The sample material is introduced into a device with a liquid system through an injection device () and in a first mobile phase the sample material is carried to an extractor (). In a section () of the extractor () the microparticles are immobilized by means of a magnetic field of a controllable means () and separated from the remaining sample material. By switching over of a switching unit () a second mobile phase () is carried to the extractor () and the second mobile phase () detaches the adsorbed analyte from the surface of the microparticles. The second mobile phase () with the dissolved analyte(s) can be analyzed by way of chromatographic separation () and subsequent detection ().

The present invention provides a novel procedure of preparing samples for analysis by way of mass spectrometry, preferably LC-MS/MS. Accordingly, functionalized magnetic particles with a hydrophobic surface were used for extracting low molecular weight compounds from complex liquid biological samples such as plasma, serum, whole blood or hemolyzed blood. The method of the invention includes (a) contacting the sample with an amount of functionalized magnetic particles with a hydrophobic surface, (b) incubating the sample and the particles, thereby adsorbing the compound to the hydrophobic surface, (c) separating the particles by applying a magnetic field and removing the liquid, (d) optionally washing the particles, (e) eluting the compound from the particles.

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Munich, Germany

Michael Vogeser