FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Melbourne, Australia – 05 November, 2025 – IonOpticks, developer of the highest-performing chromatography columns for mass spectrometry research, today announces its first trap column, and the introduction of NanoShield™ to the market. Designed to protect high-performance Aurora Series® columns without compromising sensitivity or depth of analysis, NanoShield™ products set a new standard for advanced proteomics workflows.

As the speed and sensitivity of modern mass spectrometers continue to rise, bottlenecks in sample loading and concerns over column longevity have limited the potential of high-throughput proteomics. NanoShield™ products solve both problems at once. By enabling rapid sample loading without sacrificing chromatographic integrity, they allow scientists to run hundreds of samples per day, accelerating discovery while reducing consumable costs and maintenance.

The first of the NanoShield™ range, shipping from January 2026, is a 5 cm x 100 µm C18 trap column with 3 µm particles, engineered primarily for reversed-flush operation, featuring two patented zero-dead-volume nanoZero® fittings. Developed through years of column innovation and real-world testing, NanoShield™ products enable high-pressure, high-flow sample loading with next to no protein and peptide ID loss, all while dramatically extending column lifetime.

“These are more than just a line of defense for your analytical column, they’re an enabler of high-performance science,” said Dr Jarrod Sandow, Chief Product Officer at IonOpticks. “We developed the NanoShield range to give researchers freedom. Freedom to run the samples they need; FFPE tissue, plasma, spatial proteomics, or collaborator-prepared digests, without worrying about damaging their Aurora columns or having to compromise on sensitivity. The result is a workflow that protects performance, not just hardware.”

The NanoShield™ advanced trap-and-elute design ensures reproducibility and stability even under extreme throughput. During extensive testing on both Bruker and Thermo Scientific high-resolution systems, they consistently maintain peak shape and width, with as little as 1% reduction in peptide identifications versus direct injection. The result is fast sample loading, the same sharp peaks, and better CVs across thousands of injections – all while protecting the integrity and lifetime of the analytical column – empowering laboratories to run around the clock without compromise.

“NanoShield is a very important release for IonOpticks and our customers,” said Xavier Perronnet, CEO of IonOpticks. “Unlike other trap solutions, our NanoShield range has been designed specifically to preserve the exceptional chromatographic performance that our Aurora Series columns are known for, while providing a layer of protection that extends the life of the analytical column. They also enable faster sample loading, important for researchers running high-throughput workflows who don’t want to sacrifice sensitivity or depth of coverage for speed.”

Premature analytical column failure from poorly prepared samples is a costly reality in proteomics laboratories. While traditional trap columns offer protection, they sacrifice performance through hydrophilic peptide loss and reduced identifications. NanoShield™ delivers the solution: a line of defense for analytical columns against blockages and contamination from challenging samples while maintaining direct injection-level performance. Laboratories can now extend analytical column lifetime without compromising proteome coverage or identifications.

“When you’re running tens of thousands of injections in a large cohort study, consistency isn’t a luxury, it’s essential,” added Dr Sandow. “NanoShield delivers that consistency. It lets you focus on the data, not the downtime.”

The NanoShield™ product range, built for all labs and operational priorities, will include a combination of dimensions and high-pressure fittings, and is designed for both forward and reversed-flush operating modes. Available for pre-order commencing at HUPO 2025 in Toronto, NanoShield™ will be shipping worldwide, through IonOpticks and its distributor network, from January 2026.

– ENDS –

Media Contact

Michael Sinden, CBO (communications@ionoptickscopy.com)