Instrumentation

The center strives to set the standard for nontarget analysis with the help of state-of-the-art High-Resolution Accurate Mass (HRAM) Mass Spectrometry platforms and data analytics. The Gas Chromatography (GC) Orbitrap platform allows for the comprehensive detection of various exogenous chemicals, including persistent organic pollutants, emerging contaminants, and more. The Liquid Chromatography High-Resolution Orbitrap Mass Spectrometer instrumentation allows a broad spectrum analysis of thousands of endogenous and exogenous metabolites/chemicals in biological samples.

Thermo Scientific Q Exactive™ HF-X MS

Thermo Scientific Q Exactive HF-X Hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap High-Resolution Accurate Mass Spectrometer (LC-HRMS) leads our LCMS-based analytical platforms for exposomics. The Q Exactive HF-X is equipped with a high-capacity transfer tube (HCTT) and electrodynamic ion funnel, ensuring a broader mass range for metabolite detection. The Q Exactive HF-X MS with a scan speed up to 40 Hz and 240,000 resolving power allows deep metabolome coverage, reproducibility, throughput, and robustness essential for longitudinal unbiased exposome studies.

Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris™ 240 MS

Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris 240 combines high mass accuracy, sensitivity, and resolving power of 240,000 across a wide dynamic range to provide exceptional data quality for human exposome analysis. Exploris 240, equipped with an EASY-IC internal calibration source, allows unknown mass analysis with high accuracy (<1 ppm) and precision. E240 HRAM MS (LC-HRMS), with its operational simplicity and built-in AcquireX intelligent data acquisition strategy, collects more meaningful data with a faster turnaround leading to higher depth and coverage of human metabolome.

Thermo Orbitrap ExplorisTM GC 240 High-resolution accurate mass (HRAM) mass spectrometer

Thermo Orbitrap Exploris™ GC 240HRAM mass spectrometer (GC-HRMS) enables the characterization of environmental exposures in complex biological samples in a high-throughput manner. It delivers a resolving power of up to 240,000, providing excellent exposome coverage with sub-ppm mass accuracy. The system is equipped with Electron Impact (EI) and Chemical Ionization (CI) with MS/MS capabilities, offering versatility in ionization techniques. This capability enables the nontarget profiling of a wide range of chemicals, including persistent organic pollutants (POPs), emerging environmental contaminants, and unknown compounds. Unbiased GCMS-based exposomics is crucial in advancing our understanding of environmental health by linking exposures to disease outcomes.

Thermo Scientific Orbitrap IQ-X Tribrid mass spectrometer

The Thermo IQ-X Tribrid Mass Spectrometer significantly expands our capabilities to explore human exposome by allowing follow-up identification, validation, and in-depth characterization of unknown compounds. The IQX- MS is a state-of-the-art MS system with tribrid architecture, uniquely designed to accomplish sensitive, accurate, unbiased, and high-throughput on-the-fly structural characterization of unknowns through ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD), linear ion trap (for MSⁿ mass fragmentation ion tree), real-time spectral library searching, and AcquireX data acquisition workflows. It has enhanced capabilities such as multiple fragmentation techniques, higher precursor ion selectivity, and a fully automated calibration source. Using the IQ-X to follow up on the suspect features from our LC/GC combined platform provides unparalleled discovery for exposomics research.

All the HRAM MS systems listed above are integrated with the Thermo Scientific Vanquish™ Duo UHPLCs. Vanquish Duo UHPLC systems combine two independent LC flow paths to double the sample throughput or to exploit two-column chemistries in parallel to expand the exposome depth and coverage.

If you are interested in collaborating please contact us at: exposomics@cumc.columbia.edu