Bruker introduces Toxtyper clinical mass spectrometry solution

At the annual conference of the DGKL (Deutsche Vereinte Gesellschaft für Klinische Chemie und Laboratoriumsmedizin -see www.dgkl.de), Bruker today announced the European launch of the novel, automated Toxtyper™ clinical mass spectrometry solution to meet the increasing demands for LC-MS/MS throughput and data quality in routine toxicology laboratories without the need for mass spectrometry expertise. The Toxtyper solution provides faster and more reliable identification of toxins and drugs of abuse within 10 minutes at therapeutic and toxic levels. Bruker developed the Toxtyper solution with a library of 850 compounds in close collaboration with Jürgen Kempf at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Freiburg, Germany, and with Professor Denis Hochstrasser and Dr. Marc Fathi's team at the Geneva University Hospital (HUG - Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève) in Switzerland.    

The Toxtyper solution sets a new standard in LC-MS/MS identification without requiring method development or mass spectrometry expertise. Results and libraries are easily transferable from lab to lab due to Bruker's patented SmartFrag™ technology, an innovation that essentially removes variation and tuning from the MS/MS process. SmartFrag uniquely positions Toxtyper as a best-in-class, robust solution for rapid adoption in routine and acute clinical toxicology.

Transferability and reproducibility of the novel Toxtyper solution were validated by an inter-laboratory ring test using 4 spiked test serum samples measured by 7 Toxtyper systems in 5 different laboratories. A positive, correct identification rate of well over 90% was reported by all participants, confirming the easy adoption, high performance and transferability of the Toxtyper method.

The Toxtyper solution combines novel library identification algorithms and a high quality library of toxicological compounds with Bruker's high-performance amaZon speed ion trap mass spectrometer coupled to an UHPLC system. This efficient and robust system provides ultrafast identification of drugs and toxins, with better throughput, compound coverage, selectivity and more reliable identification than previous LC-only or LC-MS/MS based toxicology systems. Key technologies to achieve such robust and reliable toxicology identification performance include the use of continuous, zero-delay positive/negative ion switching, high MS/MS specificity and -importantly - novel, on-the-fly MS³ product ion confirmation.

Jürgen Kempf of the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Freiburg, Germany commented: "The combination of a simple push-button solution with the performance of the trap technology makes the Toxtyper solution a valuable tool for routine and research forensics labs."

Dr. Marc Fathi from the Geneva University Hospital (HUG - Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève) commented: "We are using two Toxtyper systems for the routine toxicological screening of patients admitted to the emergency room and profit from the ease-of-use and fast result generation of this solution."

In parallel, the routine applicability of the Toxtyper solution is evaluated together with PD Dr. Peter Findeisen at the Institute for Clinical Chemistry, Mannheim (UMM), who commented: "We are using the system for routine screening of patients that are admitted to the emergency room of the UMM with suspected intoxications. The specificity of the method and shortened turnaround times are rather impressive, and perfectly fit the demands for general unknown screening."

The new Toxtyper solution builds on the success of the MALDI Biotyper, the very successful Bruker mass spectrometry solution which has transformed clinical microbiology identification in recent years with faster time-to-result (TTR), lower consumables cost and more differentiated species and strain information on over 4,000 strains in a high-quality IVD-CE microbial identification database.

The amaZon speed series of ion trap mass spectrometers delivers small molecule sensitivity in the femtogram region, Zero-Delay Alternating (ZDA™) polarity switching and outstanding scanning speed at 52,000 u/sec. This performance allows one-shot, 10 minute analysis of basic and acidic compounds in a single UHPLC separation, delivering reliable Toxtyper identification with the fastest identification rate in the market.

The amaZon speed is a proven robust platform, ideal for multi-user environments, and supported by Bruker's unique Compass OpenAccess software, a web-based client-server system that enables a push-button solution for automatic library searches. The performance of the amaZon speed delivers excellent data quality for a range of additional clinical small molecule applications, such as quantitative therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) by sensitive and fast LC-MS/MS methods in less than 5 minutes. Novel software for automated assignment of structures to fragment ions offers metabolite identification and structure verification by MSⁿ.