Monthly Archives: December 2012
Inspiring TED Talk – Polar Explorer Ben Saunders
As both a scientist and technologist, sometimes I can get bogged down in the day to day tasks of technology itself.
When I watched this TED Talk, it served to remind me of the addictive quality science has for me and why I became a chemist/mass spectrometrist in the first place.
But it also reminded me why my life now as a technologist, is important on finding those of the next generation to follow in science and be successful.
Again whether in the lab, sales, marketing or what not, we are driven by the first passion of helping scientist achieve the next level.
It should remind us to get out of the metphorical house and see what we are doing and what we could do.
TF 3.0 uhhhh… Where did Configuration go?
TraceFinder has a few options that can be configured for use in the applications. These includes Power Modules which add significant functionality to default settings that a user has determined work best for them. Such as the use of PPM versus MMU for extracted mass range determination behind the scenes.
In previous versions the configuration mode was accessible in the main navigation panel, typically displayed on the left hand side of the screen.
It is now an always present COG wheel, in the upper right hand corner of the application screen.
So watch the video below to see how to access Configuration and what each section and specifically what some of the options do in and for the applications.
If the video is blurry please click the cog wheel at the bottom of the panel and increase the video display resolution.
New Look and Feel for the Compound Database in TF 3.0
When TraceFinder originally launched we introduced the concept of using a compound data base for storing compound information for use later in method development.
Over the last couple of years we’ve found that more information was needed for use in some complex experiments that were becoming more common.
So we had several discussions with customers, on how to make this an easier process to get data in and alter it once it was in.
In TraceFinder 3.0 you will find a completely new user interface for the CDB. It allows for a detailed view and editing of data needed for Quantitative and Targeted Screening experiments. More ease of use features are yet to come but if you were a user in the past, you should find this interface quite a bit simpler to use.
We have also incorporated the ability to export all the data to Excel for grid type editing and then reimport the changes.
If you have compound data stores from legacy versions of TraceFinder or compound data bases from ExactFinder, simply choose the file and import it. TraceFinder converts and validates the data into the TF 3.0 format.
You can get an overview of the CDB in the video below.
If the video is blurry please click the cog wheel at the bottom of the panel and increase the video display resolution.
Intelligent Sequencing – Step One – Setting up the method
Intelligent Sequencing is not a new concept. In the late 90’s Thermo had an application called ToxLab which used the concept of flagging data and altering the sequence of the set of samples based on failure criteria.
This allows for insertion of blanks, reinjection of sample or a combination according to criteria that a chemist would normal use to look at his data the next day to determine, which if any samples had to be rerun.
Intel Seq just does this on the fly.
It allows the user to have confidence that the data will be handled in the prescribed manner using the existing on the fly criteria that has existed in TraceFinder for a number of years.
By using this feature the chemist can cut back time on reinjections and sometimes on sample prep since the sample wouldn’t have evaporated. Also it will not have gone beyond the sample stability time threshold before reinjection occurs.
The first part of the operation is setting flagging criteria as you have done previously.
The next is setting of the method criteria for Intel Sequencing.
If the video is blurry please click the cog wheel at the bottom of the panel and increase the video display resolution.
TF 3.0 Export Results Grid to Excel and Copy Images to Clip Board
Sticking to new features in data review, we’ll continue with a simple workflow.
One of the many request that TraceFinder has received over the last year has been to have the ability to export the results grid directly to Excel instead of having a Custom Report generated.
In TF 3.0 all data grid results whether in the quantitative views or targeted screening section, export all data to Excel or CSV files directly.
No need to produce a custom report and navigate through the files menus to go get it.
Simply export and place the file where you want it.
Also a feature that has been requested is the ability to copy high definition images of chromatograms and such to the clipboard for use in papers, lab notebooks and presentations/posters.
We also did this in TF 3.0
If the video is blurry please click the cog wheel at the bottom of the panel and increase the video display resolution.
New TF 3.0 Targeted Screening Workflow in Data Review (or the marriage of TF and ExactFinder)
A new feature to TraceFinder 3.0 is targeted screening. The workflow and method setup that were included in ExactFinder has been included in TraceFinder 3.0. Though it has been expanded to support Nominal Mass as well as HRAM.
That means this feature will work for all mass spectrometers from the GC single quads to the Q-Exactive.
Though some sections are more geared for HRAM, they can just not be used when using nominal mass data.
The other aspect is that TF gives you the ability to acquire, process and report on the fly during acquisition. Therefore, if you so choose you don’t have to wait to review your data. So this expands the capabilities that was introduced in ExactFinder.
This is our first step with this functionality and more is to come in following releases, but there are some interesting things that can be done by having these two workflows combined.
Again the video is a little longer that my 2 minute rule but there is a lot to look forward to.
If the video is blurry please click the cog wheel at the bottom of the panel and increase the video display resolution.
New TraceFinder 3.0 Data Review Elements
In TraceFinder 3.0, you will find that we have changed the Graphical User Interface quite a bit. Other than changing some of the colors and the navigation style we have also added elements to help review data in a way that can be tailored.
A concept that came across to our team was to help tell the story of the data. This is what TraceFinder was intended to do from its concept. We realized that many scientist that will use this and related products will not be “CLASSICAL” mass spec people. Young new chemist or other scientist not use to mass spec data moving into the lab need to be able to see what they need to know about the data and have a feel on what works best for them. At the end of the day they are telling the story of the data to their customers.
Our concept is to give you the ability to choose what you want to see and how you want to see it.
In forthcoming releases you will have the ability to “Read the Cliff Notes” of the data or the other end of the spectrum of reading “War and Peace,” if you so choose. We don’t want to limit the data or have the data be so overwhelming it can’t make sense.
So in this video we will show you how to navigate in the Compound and Sample Views which are just different ideas on how to look at the data. Also how to arrange the views so it makes sense, or makes it easier to read through the data.
A big plus is the ability to filter out data you don’t care to see or only data you are interested in.
All this and the views are remembered automatically when a User signs out or closes the application.
Although the video only takes place on one screen. Any part of the data review section is a dockable panel so you can have parts on multiple monitors and they will remain synced. I personally use a three monitor setup and have a multipeak panel on one, a detailed view on another and my data review grid on my main display.
Remember we can only make it better if we hear back from you so, please send in your ideas, comments or questions. The video is a little longer than my 2 minute rule but it should explain a lot of the NEW ELEMENTS and their functions.
If the video is blurry please click the cog wheel at the bottom of the panel and increase the video display resolution.
TraceFinder: Direct Knowledge 