Waters introduces Cyclic IMS P20 Mass Spectrometer at ASMS 2026

At the 74th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics in San Diego, USA, Waters Corporation has launched the Waters Cyclic IMS P20 Mass Spectrometer™, a high-resolution structural and spatial omics platform designed to help scientists detect disease signals earlier, accelerate biotherapeutic development, and better understand complex biology.

New benchmark in sensitivity and structural resolution

The Waters Cyclic IMS P20 Mass Spectrometer delivers more than a 10-fold increase in MS/MS sensitivity compared to its predecessor, enabling the detection of subtle biological differences and low-abundance molecular species that were previously difficult to observe. The system extends the upper mass range by more than 50% to over 100 kDa, supporting the analysis of larger and more heterogeneous therapeutic targets.

By combining multipass cyclic ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) with an enhanced suite of fragmentation and structural probing capabilities, the Cyclic IMS P20 MS provides a comprehensive spatial and structural molecular view within a single platform. This supports earlier, previously unattainable detection of disease signals, from protein misfolding to post-translational modifications.

Advanced tools for structural and spatial omics

Waters has developed the Cyclic IMS P20 MS to address the growing need for higher sensitivity, higher structural resolution, and easier-to-adopt analytical workflows in structural and spatial omics.

The platform integrates:

• Multipass cyclic ion mobility spectrometry for high-resolution separation of molecular species
• Tandem ion mobility spectrometry (IMSⁿ) for complex structural analysis
• Electron-capture dissociation (ECD), surface-induced dissociation (SID), and collision-induced unfolding (CIU) for complementary structural probing

These capabilities enable scientists to obtain confident insights into protein structure, conformational changes, and molecular interactions within a single experiment.

Supporting next-generation biotherapeutic development

As researchers pursue larger and more heterogeneous therapeutic targets, the Cyclic IMS P20 Mass Spectrometer is designed to support the development of next-generation biotherapeutics. The extended upper mass range to over 100 kDa and the comprehensive suite of structural tools help characterize complex biologics, including large proteins and protein complexes.

The system’s ability to reveal subtle structural differences and post-translational modifications supports more precise characterization of candidate therapeutics, helping to de-risk development and improve understanding of mechanism of action.

Enabling earlier detection of disease signals

The >10x step-change in MS/MS sensitivity of the Cyclic IMS P20 MS allows researchers to probe low-abundance molecular species that are often critical to disease mechanisms. This is particularly important for studying protein misfolding and other subtle structural changes associated with human disease.

By providing high sensitivity and high structural resolution, the Cyclic IMS P20 Mass Spectrometer supports earlier and more detailed detection of disease-relevant molecular signatures.

Integrated MALDI and DESI imaging for spatial omics

The Cyclic IMS P20 Mass Spectrometer brings matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) imaging sources together in one system. This integration, combined with advanced multipass cyclic ion mobility and IMS separation, enables high-resolution spatial omics directly from tissue samples.

This approach allows researchers to:

• Visualize small molecules, lipids, peptides, and proteins directly in tissue
• Separate isobaric and stereoisomeric compounds
• Generate multi-dimensional molecular images that link molecular composition to the tissue microenvironment

The system’s full-spectrum molecular imaging capabilities support biomarker identification directly from tissue, providing rich, easily interpreted molecular maps. These maps increase confidence in lipidomics, drug and metabolite localization, translational research, and other experiments that require spatial visualization of molecular distributions.

Improving understanding of disease at the cellular level

By integrating high-resolution ion mobility with MALDI and DESI imaging, the Cyclic IMS P20 MS enables direct visualization of molecules in tissue, improving understanding of how disease develops at the cellular level. Researchers can explore how molecular changes correlate with histological features and tissue architecture, supporting more informed hypotheses about disease mechanisms and progression.

The combination of structural and spatial omics capabilities within a single platform is designed to accelerate discovery and development, providing scientists with a powerful tool to see biology more clearly and act on it faster.

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