HPLC Front Ends for Mass Spectrometry
Precision-Engineered Components and Systems for Any LC-MS/MS Environment
Since introducing its first modular HPLC system, Shimadzu has been at the forefront in developing UHPLC components and systems for the modern laboratory. And, from the introduction of LC-MS, Shimadzu has recognized the need for precision-engineered HPLC components that work in unison with LC-MS/MS systems. That’s why Shimadzu ranks as the most trusted HPLC vendor for LC-MS/MS users, delivering unrivaled performance in terms of reproducibility, throughput, and ultra-low carryover.
Key Components
Autosamplers
![HPLC Auto Sampler](/sites/ssi.shimadzu.com/files/products/Images/hplc/front-ends-mass-spec/SIL-40C.png)
SIL-40 Series
Near-zero carryover and an ultra-high-speed injection provide the ultimate in autosampler performance, proof that the SIL-40 series autosamplers enable unmatched efficiency and productivity for LC-MS/MS analysis.
Carryover Performance
With its high selectivity and sensitivity, an LC-MS enables trace-level compound determination, especially on a triple-quadrupole platform. However, this sensitivity comes at a cost. Injection carryover or residual sample from injection to injection can really be a problem when the quantitative value of the carryover is a non-negligible amount. For this reason, Shimadzu has continually focused its attention on minimizing carryover issues through both an innovative design and effective countermeasures.
Shimadzu’s autosamplers feature a hardware design (flow path and material choice) that resists adsorption as well as rinse options that minimize carryover to ensure exceptional performance, even when used with a high-sensitivity LC-MS/MS.
Key design features include:
- Utilizes a needle-in-the-flow-path or total-volume-injection design in which the sample is aspirated into the needle and the total volume is swept directly onto the system. This design eliminates the intermediate step of loading a separate sample loop and the required valve openings and closings, which can trap sample and lead to carryover.
- The needle’s surface can be rinsed by multiple rinse solutions and the needle’s inner surface can be rinsed by up to three different rinse solutions.
- Multi-rinse mechanism can accommodate up to four solutions, and the rinsing order, volume, and duration can be user defined and method specific.
- The needle port, one of the areas on an autosampler where carryover is most likely to occur, is rinsed continuously.
![HPLC front Ends](/sites/ssi.shimadzu.com/files/products/Images/hplc/front-ends-mass-spec/nexera-front-ends-carryover-chlorhexidine.png)
Learn more about the issue of carryover here.
Throughput
Injection speed plays a pivotal role in achieving a high-throughput assay, as duration of the injection sequence is simply added to the analytical cycle time. The SIL-40 series autosamplers offer the fastest injection speed, as shown in the figure below. The 6.7 second injection cycle enables more samples to be run, leading to higher productivity and a faster return on investment.
![8 injections can be completed within 1 minute](/sites/ssi.shimadzu.com/files/products/Images/hplc/front-ends-mass-spec/nexera-front-ends-8-injections.png)
In addition, a dual-injection system consisting of two separate injection ports and flow lines, enabling different analyses to be carried out simultaneously, is available.
Read more about Shimadzu’s multiplexing capabilities here.
Pumps
![HPLC Pumps - LC-40](/sites/ssi.shimadzu.com/files/products/Images/hplc/front-ends-mass-spec/lc-40-pump.png)
LC-40 Series
The Shimadzu family of pumps continues to set the standard by which others are judged. With micro plunger-driven precision solvent delivery control to enable precise gradient delivery, they are ideal as front-end components for LC-MS/MS environments where stable, quiet, and precise solvent delivery is critical for optimal performance from the mass spectrometer.
The Shimadzu Nexera series can be configured as both high- and low-pressure gradient systems. The binary pump, which includes two pump units in a single device, results in a space-saving design in the case of high-pressure gradient configurations (XR and X3 models). Additionally, a wide variety of mixer volumes is available to support modifying the gradient delay volume as necessary.
![Gradient Configuration](/sites/ssi.shimadzu.com/files/products/Images/hplc/front-ends-mass-spec/nexera-front-ends-binary-pump.png)
Gradient configuration: (A) high-pressure gradient system, (B) low-pressure gradient system
In addition, these space-saving intelligent pumps are equipped with auto-diagnostic and auto-recovery functions, avoiding mid-analysis failure (that can be caused by flow anomalies), reducing sample waste and minimizing downtime.
HPLC Plate Changer
![HPLC Plate Changer](/sites/ssi.shimadzu.com/files/products/Images/hplc/front-ends-mass-spec/nexera-plate-changer.png)
Nexera Plate Changer
The Nexera Plate Changer offers unmatched performance and throughput in a space-saving design. It is possible to load up to seven racks of 1.5 mL vials or 14 microtiter plates. Significantly higher throughput is achieved by linking up to three units (maximum 44 MTP) to any SIL-40 autosampler for an astounding 16,896 uninterrupted samples. Each exchange of plates takes less than 20 seconds.
News / Events
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HPLC 2024
July 20-25
Hilton Denver City Center, Denver Ballroom
Denver, Colorado
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Shimadzu Scientific Instruments Opens R&D Center
These forward-focused R&D centers will enable us to closely collaborate with customers and stakeholders to develop products that meet tomorrow’s analytical laboratory needs and swiftly deliver these solutions to the marketplace.
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National American Chemical Society (Spring) 2024
March 18-20
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
New Orleans, Louisiana
Booth # 2931
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Shimadzu Scientific Instruments and Telescope Innovations Initiate Technology Partnership
The partners aim to integrate SSI’s High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (“HPLC”) systems with Telescope’s flagship product, the DirectInject-LC.
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New Nexera™ XS inert UHPLC System Eliminates Challenges of High-Concentration Mobile Phases to Achieve High Sensitivity and Reliability
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Cannabis Science Conference West 2022
May 18 2022 - May 22 2022