Orbitrap LC-MS Comparison Chart
Choose the Q Exactive Orbitrap Hybrid MS that's right for your lab
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Attributes | Q Exactive Focus |
Q Exactive |
Q Exactive Plus |
Q Exactive HF |
Q Exactive HF-X |
Q Exactive UHMR |
|
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Max resolution (FWHM) @m/z 200 | 70k | 140k | 140k (Opt. 280k) |
240k | 200k at m/z 400 |
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Mass accuracy, (internal) | <1 ppm |
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Mass accuracy (external) | <3 ppm | ||||||
Mass range | 50 to 3,000 m/z | 50 to 6,000 m/z | 50 to 8,000 m/z | 350 to 80,000 m/z | |||
Dynamic Range | >5000:1 | ||||||
Scan rates | Up to 12 Hz | Up to 18 Hz | Up to 40 Hz | Up to 12 Hz (at resolution setting of 12,500 @ m/z 400) | |||
Polarity switch | <1 sec | ||||||
PRM | - | Yes | |||||
Multiplex (precursor/ scan) | - | 10 | |||||
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Choose the Orbitrap Tribrid MS that's right for your lab
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Attributes | Orbitrap Fusion | Orbitrap Fusion Lumos | Orbitrap ID-X | |||||
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Max resolution (FWHM) @m/z 200 | 500k | 1,000k | 7.5K–500k | |||||
Mass accuracy, (internal) | <1ppm |
<1 ppm RMS using internal calibration <3 ppm RMS using external calibration, |
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Mass range | - | - | 50–2,000 m/z | |||||
Scan rates | 20Hz | 40Hz | 30 Hz Orbitrap mass analyzer MSn 40 Hz ion trap MSn |
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Polarity switch | < 1.1 sec | 1.1 sec | ||||||
PRM | Yes | - | ||||||
Multiplex (precursor/ scan) | 10 | 20 | 10 | |||||
MSn (n=10) | Yes | Yes | ||||||
ETD option | Yes | - | ||||||
Decision-tree (CID/HCD/ ETD) | Yes | - | ||||||
Synch MS3 | Yes | - | ||||||
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For more information
Choose the Q Exactive Orbitrap Hybrid MS that's right for your lab
![]() |
|||||||
Attributes | Q Exactive Focus |
Q Exactive |
Q Exactive Plus |
Q Exactive HF |
Q Exactive HF-X |
Q Exactive UHMR |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Max resolution (FWHM) @m/z 200 | 70k | 140k | 140k (Opt. 280k) |
240k | 200k at m/z 400 |
||
Mass accuracy, (internal) | <1 ppm |
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Mass accuracy (external) | <3 ppm | ||||||
Mass range | 50 to 3,000 m/z | 50 to 6,000 m/z | 50 to 8,000 m/z | 350 to 80,000 m/z | |||
Dynamic Range | >5000:1 | ||||||
Scan rates | Up to 12 Hz | Up to 18 Hz | Up to 40 Hz | Up to 12 Hz (at resolution setting of 12,500 @ m/z 400) | |||
Polarity switch | <1 sec | ||||||
PRM | - | Yes | |||||
Multiplex (precursor/ scan) | - | 10 | |||||
![]() |
For more information
Choose the Orbitrap Tribrid MS that's right for your lab
![]() |
||||||||
Attributes | Orbitrap Fusion | Orbitrap Fusion Lumos | Orbitrap ID-X | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Max resolution (FWHM) @m/z 200 | 500k | 1,000k | 7.5K–500k | |||||
Mass accuracy, (internal) | <1ppm |
<1 ppm RMS using internal calibration <3 ppm RMS using external calibration, |
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Mass range | - | - | 50–2,000 m/z | |||||
Scan rates | 20Hz | 40Hz | 30 Hz Orbitrap mass analyzer MSn 40 Hz ion trap MSn |
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Polarity switch | < 1.1 sec | 1.1 sec | ||||||
PRM | Yes | - | ||||||
Multiplex (precursor/ scan) | 10 | 20 | 10 | |||||
MSn (n=10) | Yes | Yes | ||||||
ETD option | Yes | - | ||||||
Decision-tree (CID/HCD/ ETD) | Yes | - | ||||||
Synch MS3 | Yes | - | ||||||
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Definition of terms
Resolution: Frequently reported in full width at half maximum (FWHM), resolution is the separation of two mass spectrometry peaks and is calculated as the mass of a peak (M) divided by resolving power (∆M).
Mass accuracy: Expressed in parts per million, this value indicates how much an instrument deviates from a known standard or calibrant.
Scan rate: Measured in hertz, the scan rate of an MS indicates how quickly it scans a mass spectrum.
Polarity switch: The collection of both positive and negative sample ionization data (spectra) by the ion trap during a single MS analysis. Polarity switching is applied to the study of drugs, drug metabolites, pesticides, etc.
PRM: Parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) is a targeted method of high resolution MS quantification in which a full scan of each precursor ion transition is monitored; i.e., all fragments derived from the precursor ion are monitored. In contrast, single reaction monitoring (SRM) performs one transition monitoring at a time.
Multiplex: The ability of a mass analyzer to acquire data from multiple precursor ions in the same scan without compromising high signal-to-noise ratio.
MSn: Also termed tandem MS, the use of multiple stage MS to capture product ion spectra of a defined m/z, where n is the number of recorded product ion stages.
ETD: Electron transfer dissociation (ETD) results in the fragmentation of the peptide backbone of MS samples, simplifying identification of peptide modification sites.
Synchronous MS3: A method of quantitation that involves simultaneous selection of several MS2 precursors for MS3 analysis and is often used during TMT and iTRAQ experiments.