What do recent studies reveal about mycotoxin co-occurrence across grain, feed ingredients, and finished feed? Introduction Grain, feed ingredients, and finished feed are routinely tested for mycotoxins to support quality, compliance, and risk management decisions. Recent peer-reviewed research suggests that the question may no longer be whether mycotoxins are present, but whether testing programs capture…
As drug discovery moves beyond traditional small-molecule inhibitors, analytical scientists are being asked to characterize increasingly complex molecules. Proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) are one example. PROTACs combine two binding elements with a linker to selectively target proteins for degradation. Their larger size, flexibility, and multiple functional groups can create new analytical considerations compared to more conventional…
A recent bioRxiv paper by Dr. Jakub Ujma and colleagues at Waters Corporation, in collaboration with Prof. Martin Jarrold from Indiana University and Megadalton Solutions, describes a major advance—the first commercial benchtop charge detection mass spectrometer (CDMS) based on electrostatic linear ion trap (ELIT) technology. Why does this matter CDMS is uniquely suited for analyzing…
Norovirus virus-like particles (VLPs) are structurally heterogeneous, built from a single capsid protein that self-assembles into multiple geometries, making full characterization by conventional mass spectrometry (MS) extremely difficult. A recent bioRxiv paper by Dr. Charlotte Uetrecht and colleagues at the Centre for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB) in Hamburg, Germany, in collaboration with Waters scientists, demonstrates…
For decades, mass spectrometry (MS) developers and users have lived with a familiar trade‑off. Instruments designed for the highest analytical sensitivity often come with implicit costs: fragility, frequent maintenance, and performance that drifts under the pressures of routine use. Conversely, the most robust systems have sometimes been viewed as blunt tools—reliable workhorses, but lacking the…
As clinical LC‑MS adoption continues to grow across toxicology, endocrinology, therapeutic drug monitoring, and metabolic testing, laboratories face an increasingly difficult challenge: delivering results that are not only sensitive, but routine, reproducible, and economically sustainable. While investment decisions often focus on mass spectrometry (MS) detection, experience across clinical laboratories shows that chromatography is frequently the…
When variability appears in clinical liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC‑MS) data, the mass spectrometer is often the first place that laboratories look. Changes in signal intensity, quantitative drift, or failed batches are frequently attributed to detector performance, ion optics, or acquisition settings. Chromatography is often the root cause of the variability observed at the mass spectrometer….
Mass spectrometry (MS) is more powerful than ever. Modern clinical MS systems deliver extraordinary analytical sensitivity, selectivity, and quantitative performance, opening the door to broader test menus with lower detection limits. With capabilities like these, it’s tempting to ask a simple question: Does chromatography still matter as much as it used to? The short answer…
Ensuring the stability of recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vectors remains a central challenge in gene therapy development. rAAV particles are structurally complex, highly heterogeneous, and sensitive to environmental stress, making it difficult to link analytical changes to functional consequences during manufacturing and storage. A recent Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences study by Prof. Susumu Uchiyama and…
The Role of Enzymes in LC-MS Analysis of Modern Biotherapeutics Enzymes are nature’s catalysts, enabling precise and efficient biochemical transformations. In analytical workflows, enzymatic digestion is a cornerstone technique for breaking down complex biomolecules into smaller, more manageable fragments. This process is critical for applications such as peptide mapping in protein characterization and oligonucleotide mapping…
The FDA’s October 29, 2025 draft guidance has generated significant attention due to the implications for both developers and patients. By allowing developers to bypass comparative efficacy studies (CES) when advanced analytics are successful substitutes, the draft guidance avoids one of the most expensive steps, estimated to account for 70% of the total biosimilar development…
How Sygnature Discovery Supports the 3Rs with LC-MS/MS Scientific Precision and Ethical Innovation In the world of drug discovery, researchers face a critical challenge: how do you generate high-quality, reproducible bioanalytical data while minimizing the ethical and logistical burden of using animals in testing? This is especially so with central nervous system (CNS) drug discovery,…