SUPER SESI-X
SSX
Biologically relevant vapor and nano-aerosol detection in real-time
SUPER SESI-X is a high-efficiency Secondary Electrospray Ionization (SESI) source optimized for the analysis of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds in real time.
SSX ionizes vapors and nano-aerosols for MS analysis and biologically relevant metabolites with ultra-low vapor pressure.
Main features:
High ionization efficiency
Extremely soft ionization
Atmospheric pressure operation
Seamless sample flow introduction
Compatible with Thermo Exploris, Tribrid, and TSQ MS series
Compatible with Bruker timsTOF and QTOF instruments
Real-time detection
Molecular masses up to 600 Da
Biomarker discovery with SESI-HRMS, how it works:
a nano-electrospray produces charging agents at high concentration.
Charge is transferred from protonated clusters to the vapors and nano-aerosols via Charge Transfer Reactions and Field Charging Effects.
Charged vapors and nano-aerosols are desolvated, transferred into the vacuum side of the MS, and analyzed
SSX provides biologically relevant data in real-time. We achieve this by measuring large molecules, which are more specific from a biological standpoint. More specific biomarkers are more relevant for clinical diagnosis. But this molecules tend to have very low-volatility and low concentration, so detecting them could be challenging.
Why SESI is ideal for large vapor molecules and nano-aerosols:
- Because ionizing at atmospheric pressure improves limits of detection:
Turbulent losses and condensation losses are eliminated, which means more molecules reach the ionization area. Since molecules are ionized before they reach the adiabatic expansion and cooling, region process (instead of at the entrance of the ionizer as it happens in low-pressure operating systems), ions are heated by electric fields and focused.
The ionization reaction is much faster, which means better ionization efficiency. The velocity scales with (1) the concentration of the vapors and (2) the concentration of the charging ions, both of them go with the pressure in the ionizer. At room pressure (10^3 mBar), the velocity of the charge reaction is 10^6 times higher than at 1 mBar.
High performance Electrospray - MS systems are optimized to transfer and desolvate heavy ions from atmospheric pressure into their vacuum side. This challenging technical problem is already solved by currently available commercial MS systems. SSX just rides very powerful horses!
The ionization efficiency of nano-electrospray is extremely high because the concentration of charging agents near the nano-jet is extremely high
Low volatility species tend to be more specific from a biological standpoint,, but they are often very diluted because they have a low vapor pressure. SESI ionizes them with extreme efficiently
- Because the nano-electrospray provides very clean spectra:
in-source ion fragmentation and oxidation is very low because there are no high energy ions present at any point in the ionizer. Compared with other sources using plasma as a source of charging ions, SESI ions are formed from evaporating nano-droplets. The result is a lot simpler spectra, which are easier to interpret. This is particularly important for untargeted studies, like biomarker discovery.
Want to see data to support this claim?
“While using SESI we can mostly see protonated/deprotonated species in the spectra (signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) = 115) , other technologies that use high-energy ionization, as PI, often show also oxygenated species (S/N = 5).
For more information about this topic, you can read the full” Check the full peer-reviewed article here.
Why analyze in real time?
To preserve the integrity of the sample, avoiding the degradation of metabolites.
To not loose the big molecules into the desorption tubes.
To capture the time evolution of your study, as you go.
SSX is compatible with Exploris, Tribrid and TSQ MS series.
Reliable nano-electrospray
- Discharges are eliminated with a voltage/current oscillation dampener.
- Stability is monitored by a digital nano-Amperemeter (precision of 0.3nA).
- To minimize electro chemical effects, the liquid is electrified with tantalum.
- The n-Electrospray position is controlled by a digital micro-servomotor.
- Liquid feed controlled by digital pressure controller.
- SSX utilizes Sharp Singularity emitters. To learn more about them, click here.
Applications:
Breath analysis
Breath is the only bio-fluid that is continuously available in large amounts, and it carries many particles, such as endogenous or exogenous metabolites, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), proteins, viral particles, drug metabolites…
Breath biomarkers carry information on the state of human health, so the availability of high-throughput techniques that provide the whole picture of a patient’s metabolome, will accelerate the early diagnosis of severe diseases, having a positive impact on the prognosis.
To learn more, click here
Volatilomics:
The detection and study of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted or present in different systems can reveal significant information about their state. With SUPER SESI-X , you can detect these VOCs in real-time in a non invasive way, which can be very relevant in many fields, like:
Food and aroma:
Food contamination, Food fraud, Traceability, Aroma profiling, flavor quantitative analysis and development.
Plants:
Monitor the metabolism of plants, and their metabolic response to different stimuli
Microbiology:
Monitor cell culture growth, target metabolic pathways with isotopic labels, study the response to specific conditions.
Ambient:
Trace detection, organic contaminants in clean-rooms, explosives, CBRN, pesticides, and environmental monitoring
Standard Operational Procedures (SOP), simple and well defined:
- SUPER SESI is coupled to the high-resolution mass spectrometer
- the person exhales through a disposable mouthpiece, and breath is ionized and analyzed
- EXHALION guides the exhalation maneuver
Data collection: The publication "Standardization of the procedures for real-time breath analysis by SESI-HRMS", by Sinues group of University of Basel (Switzerland), shows how to harmonize procedures and improve inter-laboratory comparisons.
Data analysis: to analyze the generated data, our partners from Deep Breath Intelligence (DBI) have created an advanced bioinformatics toolbox.
Optimized flow path:
Laminar flow avoids turbulent mixing and losses.
N2 continuously flowing preserves ultra-clean internal environment.
Exhaust flow path designed to sweep vapors away from the ionization region.
Sample flow path designed to minimize exposed areas.
Heated, continuous temperature control design with no bottle necks.
Mirror grade-polished surgical 316L SS to eliminate micro-stagnated regions.
Analytical grade silkonert coated for best surface chemical inertness.
Embedded Active charcoal filter with noble materials produces ultra-clean N2
High-precision, high-speed active Mass Flow Controller (Wisper Alicat) controls the flow configuration in the ionization region.
Easy to access to Ionization region and flow distributor for deep cleaning.
SSX is AI-ready:
SSX is an electrospray robot. All the controls are electronic and connected to an embedded microcomputer.
Why automate every control of an ion source?
Nano-electrospray provides the best ionization performances known but obtaining a stable signal can be tricky.
The new SUPER SESI-X is fully automatic and integrates the computational power to host smart control aids and intelligent control.
Customer Success
Dr. Prof. Patrik Španěl - J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry of the CAS, Prague, Czech Republic
“The SSX ion source is surely a masterpiece of state of the art engineering. Full understanding of the ion chemistry occurring between the ESI generated ions and VOC molecules inside will be an interesting challenge to tackle.”
Prof. Dr. med. Malcolm Kohler - University Hospital Zurich (USZ), Switzerland.
“We observed significant changes in glyoxylate and dicarboxylate, tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA), and tryptophan metabolic pathways. Our findings suggest that continuous monitoring of metabolite shifts from exhaled air should focus on monitoring platforms dedicated to volatile and slightly volatile metabolites”
Dr. Prof. Jangjiang Zhu - The Ohio State University, Ohio, USA.
“Our results suggested that the optimized SESI-HRMS method can be suitable forthe analysis of VFAs from gut microbes in a rapid, sensitive, and non-invasive manner.”
Dr. Prof. Renato Zenobi - ETH Zurich, Switzerland
“When SESI is combined with state-of-the-art mass spectrometers, low limits of detection (pptv) are achievable without any sample pre-concentration. We exploit this feature in our lab in a number of projects which require fast mass spectrometric analysis of vapors at trace concentrations.”
Dr. Prof. Xue Li - Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
““IAV infection induces a cascade of metabolite alterations, some of which are excreted via the skin and breath to the ambient air. Such IAV-induced odor traits could be captured by SESI-HRMS by simply dragging the air surrounding the infected mice into the analyzer. The process is non-invasive and rapid, as it requires no sample manipulation.”
Dr. Prof. Pablo Sinues - University Children’s Hospital Basel, University of Basel, Switzerland
“We use SESI-HRMS to sense exhaled molecules at minute concentrations. Since the analysis requires no sample-preparation or manipulation, the diagnostic result can be obtained nearly in real-time. This technology is especially well suited for children due to its non-invasive nature”
Dr. Prof. Lars M. Blank - Institute of Applied Microbiology at RWTH Aachen University
“Thank you Fossiliontech for all your support.”
FIT’s quality commitment and customer service
Four (4) steps to ensure your success:
Installation: FIT’s service engineer installs the SSX at your facilities.
On-site training: FIT’s engineer will spend three days in total at your facilities..
Full technical support for two years. If you have any issue, just let us know and we will assist you.
Warranty, during the warranty period (2 years in the EU) reparation service and spare parts will be provided
Related products
SIROCCO Carrying gas
VOC Storage for offline analysis
BREATH HOLDER Offline analysis
