Thermo Fisher Scientific launches first Orbitrap mass spectrometers for isotope ratio analysis

Thermo Fisher Scientific has introduced the Thermo Scientific™ Orbitrap™ Isora™ Mass Spectrometer and Orbitrap Isora Pro Mass Spectrometer, the company’s first Orbitrap instruments with a dedicated isotope ratio analysis mode. Together with the Thermo Scientific™ Vanquish™ Duo UHPLC System and new Isotope Discoverer™ Software, the instruments form an integrated workflow designed to make molecular-level isotope ratio analysis accessible to more laboratories and researchers worldwide.

Isotope ratio analysis helps researchers across environmental science, geoscience, bioscience, food authenticity and other disciplines determine where a compound came from and what molecular processes shaped it. Those insights can help researchers trace the source of contaminants like forever chemicals in watersheds, reconstruct conditions preserved in the geological record or understand how the body uses nutrients at the molecular level.

Until now, access to these insights has largely been limited to specialized isotope laboratories, putting them out of reach for many researchers.

Unlike traditional isotope ratio techniques that require samples to be converted to a simple gas, the Orbitrap Isora workflow measures isotope ratios directly at the molecular level, providing a more detailed picture of a sample’s origin and history. At the same time, the workflow simplifies an analysis that previously required multiple script-based tools and complex manual data processing.

The Orbitrap Isora workflow brings these steps together, delivering results in hours instead of days and making isotope analysis more practical for a broader range of laboratories. The workflow includes:

• The Orbitrap Isora MS and Orbitrap Isora Pro MS, which combine electrospray ionization (ESI) with high-resolution accurate-mass (HRAM) detection to measure isotopologues and isotope ratios directly from intact molecular ions. The instruments capture multiple isotopes in a single run and offer researchers different levels of analytical capability, with up to 240K maximum resolution (at m/z 200) on Orbitrap Isora MS and up to 480K maximum resolution (at m/z 200) on Orbitrap Isora Pro MS.
• The Vanquish Duo UHPLC System, which automates the introduction of samples and reference materials, using known standards to help ensure accurate, reliable isotope ratio measurements.
• New Isotope Discoverer Software, which turns the resulting isotope data into usable results by extracting isotope ratios, filtering data and applying corrections, all in one environment.

The Orbitrap Isora workflow expands what researchers can investigate with isotope ratio analysis across a range of fields:

• Environmental research: Helps trace pollution back to its source and helps track the paths PFAS and other contaminants take through watersheds, soil and food supplies, so remediation teams can target the source.
• Geology, climatology and archaeology: Helps reconstruct the past oxygen levels and microbial activity preserved in the geological record, giving earth and climate scientists a more detailed account of how the planet behaved in the past.
• Bioscience and metabolism: Provides insights into how the body uses and transforms nutrients and metabolites at the molecular level, opening new lines of study in nutrition, metabolic disease and drug development.
• Food and beverage authenticity: Helps distinguish synthetic ingredients from natural ones and helps confirm whether a product matches its label, catching adulteration before it becomes a recall.

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