A Highly Automated End-to-End Analysis Workflow for High-Throughput Mass Spectrometry Screening

SLAS, San Diego, CA, USA
January 27, 2020

Mass spectrometry (MS) features label-free, sensitive detection and rich output. Improved sampling and injection methods have made MS amenable for high-throughput screening. In a further advance, AstraZeneca (AZ) deployed Acoustic Mist Ionization Mass Spectrometry (AMI-MS) for production-scale screens. Leveraging AMI-MS’s potential required software infrastructure suited for high volumes of complex data. Genedata (GD) and AZ partnered to build an end-to-end HT-MS analysis workflow integrating GD Expressionist, an MS analysis software, and GD Screener, an analysis platform for in-vitro screening. The workflow loads raw data directly from the instrument and automates spectrogram processing and analysis, immediately delivering screening scientists at multiple research sites with pharmacologically meaningful endpoints, for quality control and hit triage. Overall, the solution enabled a 7-fold decrease in analysis time, preparing AstraZeneca to expand use of their innovative technology.