SGS has invested in multiple highly sensitive and selective LC-MS/MS instruments at its Poitiers, France laboratory, for the quantification of proteins and peptide therapeutics.
 
The two systems installed and validated are a combination of the AB SCIEX 6500+ and Shimadzu X2 UPLC, which, according to the company, offers high specificity, a wide dynamic range, faster method development and the ability to quantify multiple proteins simultaneously. LC-MS/MS techniques have a number of advantages over standard conventions for protein and peptide quantitation, which are based on ligand-binding assays (LBAs) such as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Assay development can often be time-consuming and expensive and, in addition, LBA results are often plagued by interferences and high background from antibody cross-reactivity.
 
“Mass spectrometry platforms have universal applicability, providing one technique for a large diversity of analytes,” said Dr. Walid Elbast, director LC-MS at SGS Poitiers. “All types of proteins and peptides can be quantified by LC/MS/MS without exception, and a wide diversity of other biomolecules such as lipids and carbohydrates can also be quantified, providing researchers with a highly sensitive, selective and flexible bioanalytical platform.”