High-Resolution Mass Spectrometer with DESI Imaging and Triple Quadrupole System for University College Cork

University College Cork is procuring an integrated mass spectrometry platform comprising two complementary instruments: (1) a Waters Xevo QTof/MRT High-Resolution Mass Spectrometer (HRMS) equipped with Desorption Electrospray Ionisation (DESI) XS imaging capability for discovery metabolomics, structural characterisation, and spatial molecular imaging; and (2) a Waters Xevo TQ-S cronos/micro triple quadrupole mass spectrometer for targeted quantitative metabolomics. This infrastructure will support the MS-IMPACT Core Facility funded through the Higher Education Research Equipment Grant (HEREG). The HRMS with DESI enables ambient, minimally destructive surface analysis without matrix deposition, allowing direct compound analysis from diverse samples including biological tissues, microbial colonies, materials, forensic samples, and archaeological specimens. Key capabilities include: accurate mass measurement and elemental composition determination, peptide and intact protein characterisation, spatial metabolite localisation, and simultaneous identification of known and unknown molecular features. The triple quadrupole system provides high-sensitivity targeted analysis using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) for quantitative validation of biomarkers, pharmaceuticals, vitamins, amino acids, lipid mediators, and clinical compounds. The integrated platform will support research spanning biopharmaceutical characterisation, drug development, food and environmental metabolomics, natural product discovery, clinical biomarker identification, forensic analysis, and process monitoring across the physical and life sciences.