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.
Thermo Fisher Scientific
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 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 specialised isotope laboratories, putting them out of reach for many researchers.
"Isotope ratio analysis can answer questions few other techniques can address,” said Dieter Hofmann, vice president and general manager of Applied Analytical Technologies at Thermo Fisher Scientific. “By bringing these capabilities to a familiar Orbitrap platform and simplifying what has traditionally been a highly specialised workflow, we can put powerful isotope insights in the hands of more scientists and help accelerate discoveries across human health, the environment and our planet.”
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 ionisation (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 MS enables new workflows that are very exciting, providing expanding ways to examine everything from human, animal and plant health to the biochemical history of molecule formation,” said Douglas Morrison, Professor of Isotope Bioscience at SUERC - Centre for the Isotope Sciences, University of Glasgow. “By opening new avenues of scientific discovery, the Orbitrap Isora MS could help researchers address fundamental challenges shaping a sustainable future on Planet Earth.”
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.