MicroConstants Completes Installation of Latest LC/MS/MS Technology to Achieve Improved Sensitivity in Bioanalytical Method Development

SAN DIEGO, March 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MicroConstants, Inc., a bioanalytical and pharmacokinetic-specialty Contract Research Organization (CRO) in San Diego, California, announces today that it has successfully completed the installation and qualification of a new Xevo® TQ-S tandem mass spectrometer from Waters Corporation. The unparalleled speed, sensitivity and accuracy of this new LC/MS/MS system will allow MicroConstants to quantify compounds at lower concentrations than previously possible and enable the development of more robust bioanalytical methods for even the most analytically complex compounds.

The Xevo® TQ-S tandem mass spectrometer was released in September of 2010 and this state-of-the-art LC/MS/MS system further increases the high sensitivity provided by the previous model, the Xevo® TQ MS, which MicroConstants acquired last June. The addition of this new system brings MicroConstants equipment count to a total of 16 LC/MS/MS systems at their San Diego bioanalytical laboratory.

When compared to earlier generation mass spectrometer models, MicroConstants experienced a forty fold increase in sensitivity with compounds tested internally in negative electrospray ionization mode. The significant increase in sensitivity can be attributed primarily to the system's new StepWave™ ion-transfer technology. This off-axis design dramatically increases the efficiency of ion transfer from the ion source to the quadrupole MS analyzer while at the same time actively eliminating undesirable neutral contaminants.

"Over the years, MicroConstants has gained a reputation for having the ability to develop bioanalytical methods for complex compounds when others have been unsuccessful in doing so," said David Beyerlein, vice president of global operations at MicroConstants. "This new LC/MS/MS system will allow our innovative method development team to improve methods and speed up method development for analytically complex compounds to help advance our clients' drug development programs."

About MicroConstants, Inc.

MicroConstants is a specialty Contract Research Organization (CRO) in San Diego, California that provides GLP-compliant bioanalytical research services, IND-enabling drug metabolism (DMPK) assays, ELISA immunoassay and pharmacokinetic analysis services to pharmaceutical and biotech companies developing new chemical entities worldwide. They specialize in method development, method validation and sample analysis of small molecules, proteins and peptides using LC/MS/MS, HPLC/UV and ELISA for preclinical and clinical drug development studies. For more information about MicroConstants and the contract research services they provide, please visit http://www.microconstants.com.

SOURCE MicroConstants, Inc.