The potential impact of lipid research has been increasingly realised both in disease treatment and prevention. Recent advances in soft ionisation mass spectrometry (MS) such as electrospray ionisation (ESI) have permitted parallel monitoring of several hundreds of lipids in a single experiment and thus facilitated lipidomics level studies. These advances, however, pose a greater challenge for bioinformaticians to handle massive amounts of information-rich MS data from modern analytical instruments in order to understand complex functions of lipids.

Professor Pauline Rudd, of the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) in Dublin, Ireland, has received an Agilent Thought Leader Award in support of her emerging glycomics research. The award includes a grant of funding and instruments to the NIBRT. The goals of the research are to develop novel approaches to analyse protein glycosylation which will assist in the characterisation of recombinant protein drugs, and to study potential glycan biomarkers associated with disease using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Doping remains a problem throughout sport despite increases in technology to catch the cheats and increased sampling of competitors. At the World Cup, due to start on 11 June, two mass spectrometry companies are providing instrumentation for the anti-doping labs. AB Sciex is providing LC-MS/MS instrumentation and Agilent, GC/MS systems.

Agilent Technologies has announced the 6490 Triple Quadrupole LC/MS System with iFunnel technology. iFunnel technology revolutionises the process of atmospheric pressure ion sampling, driving large sensitivity gains for most applications. The new system has a 25% smaller footprint than previous models, with a sensitivity specification that is 10 times higher.

Agilent Technologies and Stemina Biomarker Discovery have announced efforts to accelerate Stemina’s metobolomic research. Stemina uses metabolomic analysis of stem cells for the discovery of biomarkers for use in drug screening, drug development and drug development.

Agilent Technologies has introduced the Agilent Forensic Toxicology Application Kit for its liquid chromatography/hybrid quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (LC-QToF MS) systems. The application kit allows users to quickly and easily set up screening experiments that produce high-confidence results.

Bruker Daltonics' new Chemical Analysis business announced the release of MS Workstation 7, the next generation software package for the newly acquired 3x0 series GC triple-quadrupole (GC-QQQ) mass spectrometers. MS Workstation 7 features Scheduled Multiple-Reaction Monitoring (s-MRM), which facilitates method development, maintenance and data reduction tasks for challenging multi-component methods.

PerkinElmer is launching the Flexar SQ 300 MS platform at ASMS. Combining efficient chromatographic separation with mass spectrometry detection capabilities, the new Flexar SQ 300 MS system is designed for analysts seeking a fast, accurate and robust system to quickly identify and quantify compounds.

A new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet presents a technique using LC-MS/MS that makes drug testing possible through exhaled air for the first time. By examining people who had received emergency care for an amphetamine overdose, the researchers found that in all cases there were traces of amphetamine and metamphetamine in the exhaled breath.

Coupling an isotope ratio mass spectrometer to an elemental analyser or gas chromatograph/combustion system has been used to analyse squalene and squalane, oils often used in the production of cosmetics and vaccines, and can show whether they came originally from the liver oil of deepwater sharks or from olive oil.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has acquired Proxeon A/S, an innovative supplier of products for proteomics analysis based in Odense, Denmark. The company provides a simplified proteomics workflow, including nanoflow liquid chromatography systems, columns, ion sources and bioinformatics software, to meet the need for robust high-sensitivity liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analysis in complex proteomics applications. Proxeon had revenues of approximately $10 million in 2009 and has nearly 40 employees.

Bruker Corporation has created a Chemical Analysis Division within its Bruker Daltonics subsidiary. The new Chemical Analysis Division will be managed by Collin D'Silva as division president, and will be based in Fremont, CA, USA.

Thermo Fisher Scientific is providing the Scottish Metabolomics Facility (ScotMet) with technology to advance the field of metabolomics. ScotMet is funded by the Scottish Universities Life Science Alliance (SULSA) and is a state-of-the-art facility run jointly by the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde.

As well as the extensive exhibition of more than 1000 international exhibitors, Analytica also offers the Analytica Conference, whose slogan is "Talking Science—Today's Knowledge for Tomorrow's Applications". This is held on the first three days of the fair (23–25 March) and features four plenary presentations and 23 symposia with speakers from Germany and abroad.

Bruker Corporation and Agilent Technologies have announced that they have entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement. Pursuant to this agreement, Bruker will acquire certain product lines of Varian Inc., which Agilent has committed to divest in connection with obtaining regulatory approval for Agilent's previously announced acquisition of Varian.

AB Sciex has acquired the liquid chromatography business of Eksigent Technologies. This acquisition provides the company with a significant entry into the liquid chromatography market through the ability to provide instrumentation and consumables and to couple them with mass spectrometry instruments to form complete workflow solutions.

Agilent Technologies have introduced the 5975T Low Thermal Mass (LTM) gas chromatography/mass spectrometry detector (GC/MSD), that provides laboratory-quality analysis. The proprietary LTM technology has enabled the 5975T LTM to be smaller, more rugged and to consume less power than in-lab GC/MS instruments, yet capable of the same performance in the field. The LTM technology eliminates the conventional GC oven by wrapping the GC column(s) with a heating element and temperature sensor. This provides rapid heating and cooling of the column for higher throughput.

Agilent Technologies have introduced the Agilent 6150B Series single quadrupole LC/MS, a new generation of their workhorse instrument. The 6150B Series LC/MS is well-matched to the latest fast chromatography systems, able to scan at 10,000 amu per second, while maintaining data quality. It is equipped with Agilent Jet Stream Technology, a sample inlet design that uses super-heated sheath gas to focus the ion stream entering the mass spec. The benefit is enhanced sensitivity from a stronger signal with lower relative standard deviation at the limit of detection.

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments’ web-based Open Solution software permits viewing analysis results and outputting reports for liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry testing from any networked PC. Users can start and observe analysis in three easy steps. Log in to a secure network; set parameters for sample registration and analysis method; and hit start. Open Solution displays analysis progress in real time or through e-mail notification. Open Solution software enables control of the Shimadzu HPLC Prominence, UFLC Prominence and the LCMS-2020 mass spectrometer via open access without direct contact with the equipment.