InVision's Resources Empower Our Customers with ANSWERS
InVision’s complete set of resources include:
- State-of-the-art high resolution Mass Spectrometry Instrumentation
- Specialized software for mass spectral data mining
- A comprehensive analytical laboratory
These resources define us and allow us to provide sophisticated research and testing to those who need these resources but don’t have them in-house.
Instrumentation
Precision Meets Performance in Mass Spectrometry
Our mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation includes a state of the art Xevo G2S high mass resolution (30K) and high mass accuracy (3-5ppm) quadrupole time of flight (QTof) MS detector.
The detector is complemented with an impressive front end that includes an Aquity I-class Ultra-high Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) system, PhotoDiode Array (PDA) UV detector, and Electrospray Ionization (ESI) and Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization (APCI) source options. This advanced system allows for seamless qual/quant analytical workflows, with multiple channels of instrument and detector setup, allowing continuous lock-mass correction for optimal mass accuracy. In-depth structural characterization studies are facilitated by parallel full scan, MS/MS, or MSE (E for everything) fragmentation modes. Importantly, UV and MS data output are synchronized yielding correlated data captured in a single output, allowing for one stop data analysis and data mining.
Soft Ionization Meets High-Resolution Detection
The InVision analytical portfolio has grown and now includes a Xevo G2S compatible Atmospheric Pressure Gas Chromatograph (APGC) interface with an Agilent 7890B GC system. The APGC source couples the GC outlet stream to the Xevo G2S system which provides “soft” atmospheric pressure ionization of chemical analytes, and detection of intact molecular ions which might not be detected in traditional GC-MS EI or CI systems. The combination of APGC “soft” ionization, high mass accuracy QTof detection, and advanced data processing and peak mining via Progenesis QI software offers a rare analytical capability amongst analytical services providers.
A Complete Suite of GC–MS and Analytical Tools
The GC workhorse Agilent 7890A and 5975C with high sensitivity triple axis HED-EM (High Energy Dynode-Electron Multiplier) MS detector with electron ionization (EI) and NIST database search adds an orthogonal analytical approach.
Automated sample injection and advanced data acquisition and Mass Spec Lab data processing software complete a robust analytical workflow for comprehensive (polar, non-polar, volatile, semivolatile, nonvolatile) chemical characterization spanning the spectrum from routine quality control to challenging research samples in complex matrices.
While we consider the quality of our mass spectrometers vital to our business, we have also paid close attention to building a well outfitted laboratory to complete the package. We utilize an array of instruments and supplies which enable flexibility and creative innovation. Our lab includes an ATR-FTIR spectrometer, a Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC), Thermo-gravimetric Analyzer (TGA), a Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) system, a UV-VIS spectrophotometer, a Total Organic Carbon (TOC) system, SEM/EDX, a high-end Leica Stereomicroscope, and multiple LC and GC systems set up with different detectors including Time-of-Flight Mass (ToF) Mass Spectrometer for HRAMS, Evaporative Light Scattering Detection (ELSD), Refractive Index (RI), UV Diode Array Detector (DAD), and Flame Ionization Detection (FID).
As with our customers, with industry partners, we go a step above and beyond a typical test laboratory, maintaining a robust collaborative footprint, striving to remain on the cutting edge of advanced analytical method and software development.
Software and Data Processing
InVision’s high-resolution, high-mass-accuracy systems are powered by advanced hardware and software.
Routine and advanced data processing are performed in the MassLynx™ Software Suite, which manages instrument communication, acquisition, and analysis through Chromatogram, Spectrum, and MAP views. Its algorithms enable noise removal, background subtraction, peak picking, elemental composition filtering, and database matching for accurate, efficient results.
Our standalone software portfolio includes:
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Progenesis QI (Waters) for large-scale data reduction, chromatographic alignment, ANOVA statistical analysis, and database matching.
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Mass Fragment (Dotmatics, Waters) for accurate-mass-based fragment interpretation.
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MassFrontier (HighChem, Thermo) for chemical structure prediction using molecular modeling and empirical data.
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NIST 2011 Mass Spectral Library for GC-MS spectral matching of volatile analytes.
InVision partners with Waters, Thermo, Nonlinear Dynamics, and HighChem to develop cutting-edge data analysis tools. Current initiatives include expanding our proprietary MSLibrary—a high-accuracy ion database for small molecule contaminant analysis—and creating validated equivalence and fingerprinting protocols to support biomedical R&D, QA/QC, and regulatory submissions such as 510(k), IDE, and ISO documentation.
All software tools feature validated, transparent data-processing algorithms that maintain traceability between raw and processed data.
Our laboratory also houses a comprehensive suite of analytical instruments, including ATR-FTIR, DSC, GPC, LC and GC systems (with DAD, RI, MS, ELSD, and FID detectors), a UV-VIS spectrophotometer, and a Leica stereomicroscope, enabling flexible and innovative analytical workflows.
Videos
Videos from InVision’s Mass Spectrometry Lab.
Practical High Resolution Mass Spectrometry Coupled to GC (APGC)
Basics of LC/MS Based Unknown Identification
Case Studies - Published by InVision's Mass Spectrometry Lab
Removing the Veil from Adhesive Characterization -
Does Your Biomedical Device Adhesive Withstand Hydrolysis?
Authors: Marie Dvorak Christ, Ph.D. & Michal Kliman, Ph.D. | Copyright © 2015 - Mass Spec Lab Case Study
Hydrolytic stability of implantable biomedical devices is often essential to their performance, safety, biocompatibility and thus ultimately to their success in the clinic. In some applications such as drug delivery and scaffold based tissue engineering, controlled hydrolytic processes may be critical to both function and performance. Hydrolytic testing of biomedical devices and their components is not only a key R&D activity necessary for material selection and product development but is also a key element of regulatory submissions.
Hydrolytic testing requires exposure of the biomedical device to aqueous physiological conditions, generally accelerated by elevated temperature. Not only is the effect of exposure on device functionality evaluated but sensitive chemical analysis of the aqueous solvent (hydrolysate) is typically performed to screen for hydrolytic products. Optimally, selected analytical methods should chemically identify hydrolytic products, their source, and provide their quantitation for accurate risk analysis.
Liquid chromatography coupled to UV and mass spectrometry (MS) detectors has been increasingly used for the detection of biomedical device material leachables and extractables and hydrolytic products. This technique affords chromatographic separation, UV and MS detection in a single experiment, and routinely allows detection of analytes at sub part per million (ppm) levels in high sensitivity instruments. LC-MS analysis can be expected to provide rich chemical information on important analytes, e.g. polar aliphatic non-volatiles, otherwise not detectable by more traditional GC-MS and LC-UV techniques.
Are Raw Material Contaminants
Compromising Your Final Product?
Authors: Marie Dvorak Christ, Ph.D. & Michal Kliman, Ph.D. | Copyright © 2015 - Mass Spec Lab
Plastics are fundamental constituents of biomedical devices and of containers and closures (C&Cs) used in packaging of parenteral therapeutics. Leachables and extractables (L&E) residues from these plastics are a common concern of regulated medical industries. Pharmaceutical, biomedical device and therapeutic biologics all require in-depth characterization of residual analytes (ISO 10993-18:2005 and 10993-13:2010) detected in their plastic component leachates and extracts.
Plastic additives such as antioxidants, heat stabilizers, UV absorbers, and mold release agents are common L&E residuals released by plastics. Another obvious, but somewhat neglected source of plastic residuals are plastic contaminants – not prescribed additives –but compounds inadvertently introduced during plastics manufacturing. This case study focuses on the chemical identification and quantification of an acrylic plastic L&E residual compound which was introduced into the plastic as a low level contaminant of one of the monomer raw materials used in the acrylic polymerization manufacturing step.The study highlights how a low level contaminant of a raw material can become a prominent L&E residual, and how mining of analytical data with sophisticated software tools helps to uncover its origin and structure.
This case study highlights the analytical power of “accurate mass” mass spectrometry in the chemical identification of an unknown, ppm-level analyte extracted from a long-term implantable (Class III) acrylic ophthalmic device. The LC/UV-PDA/QTof-MS instrument used in this study proved to be an effective “qual/quant” tool for this application.
