Interface promotes Good Laboratory Practice

Thermo Electron Corporation has introduced a new bi-directional digital interface between its Watson Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) and Xcalibur mass spectrometry (MS) software.

Thermo Electron Corporation has introduced a new bi-directional digital interface between its Watson Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) and Xcalibur mass spectrometry (MS) software.

The company said that the interface promotes compliance with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) standards and 21 CFR Part 11 electronic records keeping regulations.

The interface - one of the highlights of the new Watson version 7.2 - is being exhibited at the 53rd ASMS conference on mass spectrometry in San Antonio, Texas (June 5-9).

"The bi-directional digital interface ensures the rapid and secure transfer of analytical run information directly from Watson to Xcalibur and the return of results back to Watson without an intermediate file.

Traditional file-based interfaces involve importing a LIMS-generated sequence file into an instrument control software system like Xcalibur, and then a results file back into a LIMS.

That means text files have the potential to be lost, misplaced or changed, which exposes a laboratory to possible non-compliance with GLP or 21 CFR Part 11 regulations.

Integrating Thermo software eliminates the need to import text files and, therefore, promotes compliance and improves laboratory efficiency," said Joel Usansky PhD, product manager for Watson LIMS.

The Watson LIMS - Xcalibur integration is enabled through an XML-based instrument gateway, which facilitates data transfer between the LIMS and the MS instrument control software, added the company.

The Watson 7.2 release, developed to support Oracle 10g, includes numerous enhancements, including study sign-off, custom study fields and analysis of solutions and preparations.

Watson is specifically designed to support drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic (DMPK) studies in drug development, said Thermo Electron.

The system communicates with external software from instruments such as LC/MS, ICP-MS, HPLC and other systems via file-based and digital interfaces.

The Xcalibur software is a Windows-based data system, providing instrument control and data analysis for the family of Thermo's mass spectrometers, including the Finnigan TSQ Quantum triple quadrupole mass spectrometer series, added the company.

The Thermo Electron stand at the ASMS conferenceat is number 67, or the company can also be seen in the hospitality suite in the Marriott River Center, Salon E.

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