Waters Corporation and Vanderbilt University Medical Centre have entered into a collaborative research initiative using the former's Maldi Synapt High Definition MS (HDMS) System for enhanced tissue imaging capabilities in oncology research within the University's Mass Spectrometry Research Centre.

Researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Centre are focusing on novel mass spectrometry (MS) approaches to identify and visualise protein expression changes in cells as they transform from a healthy state through various stages of cancer.

The Synapt HDMS system is the only commercial instrument to incorporate high efficiency ion mobility separation in a dual ionisation mass spectrometer giving scientists maximum analytical power for discovery research challenges.

Waters introduced the Synapt HDMS System at the American Society of Mass Spectrometry annual meeting in Seattle in June of 2006. It is the first commercially-available mass spectrometer with the ability to analyze ions by their size, shape and charge in addition to mass. Waters added Maldi-capability to the Synapt HDMS System in 2007 and at Pittcon 2007. The product bagged the Pittcon's Editor's Gold Award as Best New Product as well as Instrument Business Outlook newsletter's top prize for best new product.