Known for providing high-quality, innovative solutions for scientific and clinical laboratories, Thermo Fisher Scientific recently announced that it supplies High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry instrumentation to the Korea Institute of Science and Technology's Doping Control Center, a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratory.
The Seoul-based Doping Control Center was founded in the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) in 1984 to conduct doping tests for the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. As an official test laboratory accredited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Center successfully performed its duties for the games.
The Center was responsible for screening and identifying banned substances in athletes from around the globe during a major sport event in South Korea. It conducted prohibited substance screening using Thermo Fisher's Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) workflows.
In a press release, Jakob Gudbrand, President, Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry, Thermo Fisher Scientific said, "We are excited to provide our innovative screening solutions, as well as on-site technical and application support to the Doping Control Center during this important event".
The Doping Control Center ran several thousand tests using Thermo Scientific instruments over the course of six weeks. Instruments included:
- Thermo Scientific TSQ Altis triple quad mass spectrometers - designed to screen against the WADA-prohibited list of compounds
- Thermo Scientific Q Exactive Plus Orbitrap-based mass spectrometers - designed to confirm the presence of banned compounds using high-resolution Orbitrap mass spectrometry
- Thermo Scientific Delta V Isotope Ratio mass spectrometers - designed for exogenous/endogenous steroid analysis
- The Thermo Scientific Vanquish UHPLC platform, Thermo Scientific UltiMate 3000 RSLCnano system, and Thermo Scientific UltiMate 3000 Binary Semi-preparative system - used with mass spectrometers and designed for purifying compounds prior to IRMS analysis
Unity Lab Services in South Korea provided on-site technical and application support.
Thermo Fisher Scientific offers chromatography consumables and mass spectrometry-based solutions that demonstrate analytical specificity, sensitivity, and dynamic range in terms of concentration and number of drugs monitored for quantitative analysis. The company also supplies LC-MS solvents and solvent blends for a variety of applications/needs.