Bruker’s Investment in RECIPE Expands Access to Chromatography-Free MS

One of the main goals of Bruker’s applied MS group is to advance our DART technology by identifying applications and markets where it can truly make a difference. Our approach is not to replicate what others do, but to offer innovative, novel solutions. We have been especially interested in the forensic and clinical markets.

When discussions with RECIPE began, it became clear that their strengths complemented ours perfectly. We bring the technology and instruments, while RECIPE provides the consumables and assays for research in the field of clinical diagnostics.

Their established market presence also helps us introduce the EVOQ DART-TQ⁺ to a wider audience and encourage customers to adopt DART technology, which offers faster, more robust and easier-to-use solutions compared to existing methods.

There are two main reasons. First, I want to clarify that we’re not currently offering clinical diagnostics products – our systems are still for research use only and not yet certified for clinical use.

The great thing is that the applications you mentioned fit perfectly with DART technology. We focus on assays where a limited number of compounds are quantified, which aligns well with both forensic toxicology and clinical research. These assays typically cover anywhere from a few compounds up to around 15–20 parameters, which is ideal for DART.

We started with forensic toxicology last year because it’s less regulated, making it easier to enter the market.

However, given the success we’ve seen and the solutions we can offer, we realized it makes sense to explore the clinical diagnostic market too. The settings and requirements are very similar; the main difference is regulatory compliance, which we are working towards.

RECIPE is a great partner because they currently offer solutions for traditional LC-MS/MS, which we will also offer alongside the EVOQ DART-TQ⁺. But they immediately saw the benefits of DART for this market. Since mid-last year, we have been collaborating on studies to see if certain assays could be run using the EVOQ DART-TQ⁺. Almost immediately, we found it was possible, and data suggests that DART can provide quantitative results that are comparable to conventional LC-MS/MS technology.

Absolutely, there are many benefits. As the name suggests, the goal is to eliminate chromatography – the liquid chromatography part of LC-MS/MS workflows. The problem with chromatography is that it’s slow; each sample takes significant time to run. It’s also costly, which has limited broader adoption of LC-MS/MS in some markets. LC-MS/MS requires specialized experts for operation and maintenance, which adds to complexity and cost.

By removing the chromatography step and enabling direct analysis of compounds, we can increase throughput and productivity dramatically – our analysis speed is about 10 times faster than traditional LC-MS/MS. Additionally, costs go down because we reduce needed solvents by 95%, and eliminate consumables or columns. The technology also becomes more robust overall. This means DART-MS/MS could potentially be operated by less experienced lab technicians, addressing a common challenge in clinical labs.

This will greatly enhance the productivity of clinical labs and help democratize MS for clinical analysis.

Yes, we have focused on areas with high market demand where many patient samples need to be analyzed, and on assays that seem accessible using DART technology.

Our studies aim to demonstrate the potential for the EVOQ DART-TQ⁺ to be used in clinical diagnostics in the future. For example, we’ve been investigating antibiotics, which are particularly relevant for Bruker since we are a market leader in clinical bacterial identification. Monitoring drug levels in patients receiving antibiotic treatment is critical, so this is a natural extension of our capabilities.

We’ve also looked into antimycotics, which relate closely to this area, as well as commonly used assays for antiepileptics, vitamins and mycophenolic acid.

We expect to complete more studies by the end of the summer to provide further evidence supporting the clinical use of the EVOQ DART-TQ⁺.

The market is shifting – both large and smaller companies are pushing MS further into clinical applications. A great example is Roche Diagnostics, known for its large, automated platforms used in clinical labs. They are now working to integrate LC-MS as a fully automated tool within these platforms. Shimadzu develops automated workflows using a sample prep station called CLAM-2040™, followed by LC-MS analysis. Overall, there’s increasing interest in MS for clinical markets.

LC-MS is considered to be a superior technology compared to traditional immunoassays like ELISA, which only target single parameters and require specific antibodies that can take time to develop. ELISA tests also carry risks of false positives and negatives, creating uncertainty for individual patient samples. In contrast, LC-MS provides high-quality data and is more flexible for developing new assays, which helps drive its adoption in clinical labs.

While immunoassays will continue to dominate, MS is gaining traction.

At Bruker, we offer a unique approach with our novel DART technology, which differs from traditional methods and could significantly expand the use of MS in clinical labs.