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xinjinqiao
Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co., Ltd
Biopharmaceutical characterization tool: Orbitrap Ascend BioPharma Tribrid mass spectrometer
Date: 2025-12-19Read: 1
With the rapid development of the biopharmaceutical industry, new modalities are becoming increasingly diverse, such as antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), oligonucleotides, PROTACs, and RNA based innovative drug pipelines. At the same time as the rapid innovation in new drug development, it has brought more complex and diverse analytical challenges to the industry, from structural heterogeneity to low abundance impurities, which drives the development of analytical techniques towards more functionality and higher sensitivity.
Innovation in Biopharmaceutical Analysis
The Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Ascend BioPharma Tribrid mass spectrometer was developed to address these complex and diverse analytical challenges. It adopts a new dual multipole ion channel design, expanded mass range detection, and integrated usability features, which can meet the comprehensive characterization needs of today's complex and diverse new modalities.
Enhance insight into biopharmaceuticals
The Orbitrap Ascend BioPharma mass spectrometer introduces several key innovations that directly solve bottleneck problems in drug characterization:
Non denaturing mass spectrometry and extended mass range:The quadrupole isolation can reach m/z 8000, and the Orbitrap detection can reach m/z 16000, allowing for detailed characterization of intact protein complexes and non denaturing states of biological agents.
Proton Transfer Charge Reduction (PTCR):Simplify highly heterogeneous spectra to improve the credibility of protein morphology recognition.
Orthogonal fragmentation options (HCD, CID, ETD, EThcD, UVPD):Provide almost complete sequence coverage and precise localization of post-translational modifications (PTMs) and coupling sites.
● Ultra high field Orbitrap mass analyzer:Provides FWHM resolution>480K and acquisition rate up to 45 Hz, supporting depth and flux analysis.
● Automatic preparation of ion source:Support automatic, remote, and customizable calibration to maintain consistent performance without interrupting the experimental workflow.
Applications in the field of biopharmaceuticals
Antibody drug conjugates (ADCs):
Through PTCR and orthogonal fragmentation for mid down analysis, accurate drug antibody ratio (DAR) and clear coupling site localization are provided. Complete protein level and peptide level analysis can be seamlessly integrated in a single workflow.
Host cell protein (HCP) monitoring:
The Orbitrap Ascend BioPharma mass spectrometer detects trace amounts of HCP below 1 ppm concentration at conventional analytical flow rates, overcoming dynamic range challenges and supporting regulatory expectations for impurity analysis.
PTM Mapping：
The enhanced sensitivity enables confident detection of low abundance modifications (<1%), including challenging analyses such as deamidation, providing 100% coverage of heavy and light chain antibody sequences.
Oligonucleotide and RNA therapy:
Low-q CID and UVPD fragmentation provide almost complete oligonucleotide and sgRNA sequence coverage, which is beneficial for supporting gene and RNA based therapies.
Top down proteomics:
The multifunctionality of the system supports direct characterization of complete proteins, providing clear characterization evidence for structural biology and biopharmaceutical analysis.
The big shot said so
Professor Luca Fornelli from the University of Oklahoma stated:
The Orbitrap Ascend BioPharma mass spectrometer combines two fundamental characteristics, making it highly suitable for characterizing complete biopharmaceuticals. Multiple fragmentation modes complement PTCR, simplifying complex mass spectrometry and facilitating its interpretation. The Native MS option extends the quality range of Orbitrap to m/z 16000. They collectively enable researchers to perform complex ion manipulation and analyze the most diverse molecules. ”
Make the representation of New Morphology more confident
By enhancing analysis depth, throughput, and repeatability, the Orbitrap Ascend BioPharma Tribrid mass spectrometer provides a powerful platform for drug development scientists to comprehensively characterize new modalities. Whether it is identifying trace impurities, locating coupling sites, or determining RNA sequence coverage, the Orbitrap Ascend mass spectrometer provides more confident high-quality data to accelerate development cycles and meet regulatory expectations.