What is ShotGun Quality Control?

Shotgun lipidomics uses direct infusion of total (unseparated) lipid extracts from cells or tissues into a high-resolution mass spectrometer. Lipids are identified by their exact masses or by breaking them apart (HCD or CID fragmentation) and analysing the fragments.

QC Shotgun is software that quickly checks and documents the performance of Orbitrap mass spectrometers in shotgun lipidomics. It takes a list of peaks from a standard lipid mixture, calculates key performance indicators, and produces downloadable results for tracking of instrument performance over time.

How does it work?

Internal standards mixture (Ultimate SplashMix, Avanti) is diluted, infused into an Orbitrap mass spectrometer and FT MS and FT MS/MS spectra are acquired in positive and negative ion mode. Spectra are exported as peak lists and uploaded to QC Shotgun software. Seven key performance indices are computed and tracked over time.