Category Archives: Samples
TraceFinder 3.2 – New Quick Acquisition for Method Development
In previous versions of TraceFinder, there existed the Development Batch under the Method Development Mode of the application.
TraceFinder 3.2 has been replaced with a new Quick Acquisition button in the toolbar and in the Tools menu items.
This allows the user to acquire a sequence of files and open them in either Qual Browser or FreeStyle, from any view or mode.
The main benefit is that the user can perform method development or simply acquire a file to test the system. This is done without having to utilize batch processing to get an quick answer to the question.
Video player has changed. If the picture appears blurry, in the top right hand corner of the player you can enable HD to play back high resolution video.
TraceFinder 3.2 – Intelligent Sequencing as a Standard Feature
TraceFinder 3.2 will include Intelligent Sequencing as part of the standard features set.
Previously, this was an additional add-on to the TF applications, with a separate license.
Now Intelligent Sequencing will be able to be configured in the Application Configuration section of TF, as shown below.
If you are not familiar with Intelligent Sequencing, it is the capability to perform actions on the sequence list of samples from real-time analysis of the flagging system.
The uses of this feature are numerous, the main benefit is that you have a safeguard for your samples.
– If you have a QC sample that is out of tolerance, you can stop the acquisition of following samples.
– If you have carryover in your blank, the system can automatically introduce additional blanks until it is clear or stop the sequence after so many blanks have been injected.
The Power of Comparing – Do these things go together? – TF 3.1: The NEW Comparative View in Data Review
Many have asked us, how to easily compare compound response across multiple samples.
Here is the answer.
Comparative View allows for a group of samples to be shown side by side with fixed Y-scale to the most intense or a selected threshold reference sample.
The view allows the user to visualize the Expected Retention Time and the Range of Time for peak detection via Markers. This will clearly indicate how the chromatography is responding.
The user can designate samples to be part of individual or multiple groups, by assigning alpha-numeric characters to column in the sample definition screen. Once assigned, and a member of the group is selected in the results grid, the multi-chromatogram pane will display the sample group in columns and the compounds in rows.
The use of a Threshold Sample and a new tab in the method under the Limits section, allows for a visual bar to be set for a specific peak height or a percentage of the Threshold Sample’s peak height.
Below is a video of the new feature in TraceFinder 3.1, debuting at ASMS 2013.
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 – The Daily Technician Workflow – Point, Shoot and Read the report
Part of what makes TraceFinder a tool for the average chemist, is that complex experiments and processing can be setup once.
But then it can be used a thousand times, by technicians that just need to make samples and put them on the instruments to run.
Though there are many other things that can be done. Although, this isn’t an open access software, we have made it easy to just run your samples and get a report out on the fly that can go to a printer or to a pdf after each injection.
Please view 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.
TF 3.0 Converting Data from older versions for use in TF 3.0
In TF 3.0 there were alot of enhancements to how we handles the data. So we made sure that you can can seamlessly review your data created in previous versions.
Also all your templates and methods can be converted.
The Legacy Data Converter allows for browsing to all stored data locations and can replicate the original folder structure to fit within the TF 3.0 framework. Once converted you will be able to browse, review and report any of your old data in TF 3.0, but the original results and files remain in their locations so that the batches, method and templates are never destroyed.
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.
Associating another batch’s Calibration Curve to the current batch – (Answer to a “Ask A Guru” Question)
I think that the questions below are pretty self explanitory of the feature in the video.
“What would you like to know?: Hi, Jamie,
Example: A Cal curve batch is acquiring.
Case 1: I submit a new batch of just patient samples and forget to extend the cal file to those samples. How do I extend the cal file to those samples w/o pulling them into the Cal Curve batch?
Case 2: I submit a new batch of just patient samples and extend the cal (with the wrong file) to those samples. How do I reprocess with the correct cal file?
Company: TFS
Area Of work: Clinical”
So if you have a batch in flight. You should pause the acquisition while you associate a calibration file. It just makes things cleaner if you have an older system with less RAM.
The video is out of the soon to be released TF 3.0, but if you are using and older version the functionality and menu selections are still the same. Dependant on the resolution setting the last frame may be overlayed with another.
If the video is blurry please click the cog wheel at the bottom of the panel and increase the video display resolution.
Excel rules the world or at least it thinks it does…..
So, this week we’ve gotten a few questions on importing a sample list in CSV format.
There is an error that can occur if the csv file you exported and made adjustments to, is still open in Excel when you try to reimport it.
Unfortunately, the error message isn’t as descriptive as maybe it should have been, but it did give us a chance to post another answer to a “Ask A Guru” question
If the video is blurry please click the cog wheel at the bottom of the panel and increase the video display resolution.
Matrix Spike and Matrix Spike Duplicate… Understanding the how it works.(Answer to a “Ask a Guru” question)
A question from the Ask a Guru was how to use MS/MSD samples and reports, well read below.
In the Environmental realm there is an experiment for a Matrix Spike and a duplicate, when compared to an unknown sample.
This allows for the chemist to calcualte a recovery of of the compounds contained in the unknown sample.
To set up the experiment the chemist needs three sample types.
- Matrix Spike – with compounds spiked into it at a known level
- Matrix Spike Duplicate – with compounds spiked into it at the same level as the Matrix Spike
- Unknown – a sample with unknown amounts
Under QAQC tab of the Master/Local Method the concetrations of the spikes compounds must be entered in the grid for the MS and MSD tab.
In the Batch View the samples to be grouped together and used to report the Recovery must have the same SAMPLE ID. There must be one of each SAMPLE TYPE, but each one must have the sample SAMPLE ID text in their individual grid cell.
When the batch is processed the data for recovery will be calcuated and a MS/MSD Report can be generated that displays the information about this experiment.
See the picture below of the report in Report View.
Thanks to Gail Harrison for her suggestion on a blog post.
Now that I have a CDS, what do I do with it?
Well, the end game of the CDS is to supply information that can be used to create methods and acquire data.
Here we’ll look at the Acquisition List side of the equation.
Here in the data we retrieved from a CDS or PMD file is stored.
Note that PMD files do not contain all instrument information but this can be added to a CDS and then adjusted.
From here you can select the export SRM data in the Method View tab and an Xml file containing the instrument specific data will be produced.
If you open this file in a text editor such as note pad it will contain the information in the Acquisition List in a format that can be imported into the Instrument Method editor.
If on the Batch View section or the final page of the Acquisition Mode wizard you select Auto-TSRM update this information is passed to the mass spec at the time of acquisition. This allows the user to collect only the data needed to be processed and allows for manual updates in the batch to be automatically loaded to the mass spec at run time. This does not monitor the RT of peaks and automatically update the mass spec controller, but allows for user input to occur in on place versus having to open the instrument editor for a second adjustment.
TraceFinder: Direct Knowledge 