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Boost Your Productivity with the Isotopic Analysis of Intact Molecules

By 10.04.2023

This is the first in a series on Isotope analysis using Orbitrap technology.

Are you regularly measuring isotope ratios in your lab? Chances are, you are using gas isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GIRMS). GIRMS has many advantages: it’s simple, sensitive and robust. But if you want to measure the isotopic composition of a complex molecule, you first have to convert it to a low molecular weight gas (e.g., CO2, SO2, N2) via combustion, pyrolysis, microbial fermentation, mineral precipitation or chemical treatment. This can be time-consuming and labor-intensive, and can also introduce error through contamination. There has to be a better way, right?   

Introducing the Thermo Scientific Orbitrap Exploris Isotope Solutions. The Orbitrap Exploris Isotope Solutions takes in intact complex molecules and gives out accurate isotope ratio analysis without the complex sample prep of GIRMS. This allows you to dramatically increase the productivity of your lab.

Let’s take the example of nitrate in freshwater: If we want to measure both the oxygen and nitrogen isotopic composition, we traditionally use a bacterial denitrifier method for converting nitrate to N2O, and then use GIRMS to measure the nitrogen and oxygen isotopic composition. It takes 6-10 days to prepare the denitrifier culture and several hours to purge the evolved N2O gas. By contrast with the Orbitrap Exploris Isotope Solutions, freshwater can be simply diluted and introduced to the instrument (TN001482), eradicating days of sample preparation.

So there you have it, why analysis of intact molecules can dramatically increase your lab’s productivity. And it’s not just nitrate, the Orbitrap Exploris Isotope Solutions can take a huge range of different analytes — both organic and inorganic compounds — varying widely in molecular weight, structure and chemical properties.

For more information, visit thermofisher.com/orbitrap-for-isotopes.

Boosting your productivity is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the advantage of the Orbitrap Exploris Isotope Solutions. Read Part 2 of this 3-part series to find out how this technology can be used to uncover a wealth of new isotopic information.

Part 2: New Dimensions in Isotope Ratio Analysis: Multiply Substituted Isotopologues

Part 3: New Dimensions in Isotope Ratio Analysis: Site Specificity

Issaku Kohl