The Benefits of TurboFlow Technology
Save Time by Eliminating Sample Preparation
With turbulent flow chromatography, you eliminate the need for lengthy sample preparation steps, such as protein precipitation, liquid/liquid extraction, or solid-phase extraction, thereby saving time. Our systems allow you to directly inject plasma, urine, or other biological matrices onto the system. Simply centrifuge your plasma sample prior to column injection. The unique features of the TurboFlow columns allow the compounds of interest to be retained on the column while the plasma matrix quickly and completely elutes through.
Comparison of Sample Preparation Techniques
A TurboFlow Method Significantly Reduces Sample Handling Steps
| Liquid/liquid | PPT | SPE | TurboFlow® method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aliquot of sample | Aliquot of sample | Aliquot of sample | Aliquot of sample |
| Spike with IS | Spike with IS | Spike with IS | Spike with IS |
| Add buffer | Add acetonitrile | Add 0.1N HCL | |
| Condition sorbent | |||
| Add sample to sorbent | |||
| Add MTBE | |||
| Shake 10 min | Wash | ||
| Centrifuge | Centrifuge | Centrifuge | |
| Remove organic | Remove supernatant | ||
| Evaporate to dryness | Evaporate | ||
| Reconstitute | Reconstitute | Reconstitute | |
| Transfer to plate | Transfer to plate | Transfer to plate | |
| Inject onto column | Inject onto column | Inject onto column | Inject onto column |
Using TurboFlow methods on TLX systems allows you to remove most of the time-consuming steps in the sample preparation process, which speeds sample throughput while minimizing errors and variability.
SPE, PPT, and TurboFlow Technology Comparison
The TurboFlow Method Showed Reduced Ion Suppression
Figure 1. TLX Systems with TurboFlow columns offer superior sample extraction when compared to both PPT and SPE because of their dual properties - the combination of molecular weight separation and the chemistry selectivity of the patented TurboFlow columns.
Reduce Ion Suppression for Cleaner Sample Extracts
TLX systems are superior to PPT and SPE for reducing ion suppression. As a result, it is the preferred method for cleaning biological fluids. As shown in Figure 1A, there is no distinguishable difference between the blank injection and the plasma injection using the TLX system. When PPT is used to crash out proteins from plasma, there are still many components remaining in solution. This can cause ion suppression during analysis, resulting in a loss in signal strength relative to the blank in example 1B shown in Figure 1. Some SPE methods can efficiently remove matrix interferences, but all too often, those methods will vary from compound to compound and will not remove all of the interferences, also resulting in ion suppression (1C).
Quadruple MS Throughput by Multiplexing
TLX systems using turbulent flow chromatography are available as multiplexed systems should your throughput demands increase with either your TurboFlow or HPLC methods. TLX systems are the only truly independent, parallel, multichannel HPLC systems in the industry that increase the sample throughput of your MS. For example, our TLX-4 system brings the productivity of four separate LC systems to a single MS, thereby decreasing your effective run time per analysis, while the TLX-2 offers the productivity of two separate LC systems. Our Aria software manages all aspects of the process and gives you options for ordering samples from up to four different channels into the MS.