Method Package Guidebook

Importance of the Topic

In modern analytical laboratories, growing diversity of analytes and advancements in instrument performance have increased the complexity and time required for method development. Ready-to-use Method Packages streamline workflow setup, improve reproducibility, and accelerate high-throughput analyses across multiple application fields.

Objectives and Overview

This article reviews Shimadzu’s Method Package concept, which delivers preconfigured analytical and sample pretreatment protocols optimized for Shimadzu mass spectrometers. It provides an overview of available packages, their target analytes, and supported industries.

Methodology and Instrumentation

Shimadzu Method Packages include pre-optimized settings for chromatography, mass spectrometry parameters, and data processing templates. Provided instrumentation consists of:

• LCMS-8050/8060 triple quadrupole LC-MS/MS systems
• DPiMS™-8060 PESI-MS system
• GCMS-TQ and GC-MS platforms for GC/MS/MS and GC-MS
• FTIR spectrometer with specialized Plastic Analyzer library
• EDX system for elemental impurity analysis

Main Results and Discussion

Key offerings span four major sectors:

• Life Science: Ready-to-use methods for over 1,900 metabolites, stereoisomeric amino acids, short-chain fatty acids, bile acids, lipid mediators, phospholipids, modified nucleosides, cell culture profiling, and pharmaceutical elemental impurities.
• Food & Beverages: Multiresidue pesticide screening by LC-MS/MS and GC-MS, mycotoxin analysis, veterinary drug and aminoglycoside antibiotic quantitation, dioxin and PFAS monitoring.
• Environment: Residual pesticide screening, water quality analysis including golf course pesticides, PFAS in drinking water, textile restricted chemicals, microplastics identification, and plastic degradation studies.
• Chemical & Material: Screening of phthalate esters and brominated flame retardants, analysis of plastics degraded by UV and heat exposure.
• Data Analysis Tools: LabSolutions Insight™ for automated peak review, Multi-omics Analysis Package for metabolic pathway mapping, Peakintelligence™ AI-driven peak processing, and Traverse MS for high-speed MRM data processing.

Benefits and Practical Applications

• Immediate implementation without extensive method development.
• Consistent, reproducible results across different users and labs.
• Compliance with international regulatory standards.
• High-throughput capability for multi-analyte workflows.
• Integrated data processing and reporting templates to streamline analysis.

Future Trends and Applications

• Expansion to emerging analytes and challenging matrices.
• Increased integration of AI and machine learning for method optimization.
• Development of cloud-based workflows and remote data monitoring.
• Enhanced multi-omics integration to support systems biology and translational research.

Conclusion

Shimadzu’s Method Packages deliver comprehensive, validated analytical solutions that significantly reduce method development time, enhance reproducibility, and facilitate compliance across life science, food and beverage, environmental, and materials analysis applications.

References