Can food laboratories increase sensitivity without compromising routine reliability or resource efficiency? The LCMS-8065XE was designed to address this challenge.
Food laboratories are facing rising demands. Detection limits are becoming more stringent. At the same time, workflows need to remain reliable and efficient. The new LCMS-8065XE addresses these needs with high sensitivity, dependable routine performance and lower energy and gas consumption.
Built for demanding food analysis
Food testing laboratories operate in an increasingly demanding environment. They are expected to detect contaminants and residues at ever-lower concentrations while processing growing sample volumes, meeting strict regulatory requirements and delivering results within tight turnaround times. At the same time, the diversity of food products continues to increase, introducing complex sample matrices that can challenge analytical performance and place greater demands on laboratory workflows.
Against this backdrop, analytical sensitivity remains an essential requirement—but it is no longer sufficient on its own. A highly sensitive method delivers little value if its performance varies between sample types, if it struggles with matrix interferences or if it cannot be implemented reliably in routine laboratory operations. Today’s food testing laboratories need solutions that combine excellent analytical performance with robustness, reproducibility and operational efficiency.
This means maintaining stable performance across a wide range of complex matrices, ensuring consistent throughput under routine conditions and supporting reliable results day after day. Equally important are workflows that simplify compliance with regulatory and quality requirements by reducing manual intervention, minimizing the risk of errors and enabling standardized, traceable processes. Laboratories increasingly look for technologies that not only achieve the required detection limits but also integrate seamlessly into daily operations, helping staff work more efficiently while maintaining confidence in every result.
A highly sensitive method delivers little value if its performance varies between sample types, if it struggles with matrix interferences or if it cannot be implemented reliably in routine laboratory operations.”
In food testing, sensitivity alone is no longer enough. Laboratories also need stable performance across complex matrices, consistent throughput in routine operation and workflows that support compliance without creating extra effort.
This is the environment the LCMS-8065XE was developed for.
Higher sensitivity, improved ion transfer
Built on Shimadzu’s established UFMS technologies, the system further advances both sensitivity and operational stability through refinements to the ion source and detector design. The newly developed StreamFocus function in the HESI ion source narrows the sample discharge nozzle to better control spray dispersion, improving ion uptake into the mass spectrometer. In addition, a new collision cell with an enlarged inlet lens diameter and additional lenses increases ion transmission and contributes to the system’s overall performance.
Ready for PFAS challenges
These improvements are especially valuable in applications that demand extremely low detection limits. PFAS is a clear example. Across Europe, regulatory expectations for drinking water quality are becoming increasingly stringent as authorities respond to growing concerns about emerging contaminants, industrial pollution, and the long-term impacts of trace chemicals on human health. Utilities, laboratories, and water technology providers are therefore under greater pressure to demonstrate that contaminants can be reliably detected and quantified at extremely low concentrations.
Many of today’s drinking water regulations and guidance values require the detection of contaminants at the parts-per-trillion (ppt) level (equivalent to nanograms per litre, ng/L). At these concentrations, even a few trillionths of a gram of a substance in water can be significant from both a regulatory and public health perspective. Achieving this level of sensitivity requires advanced analytical techniques, such as LC-MS/MS or high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS).
Examples of contaminants that increasingly require ppt-level monitoring include:
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): Often referred to as “forever chemicals,” PFAS have become a major regulatory focus across Europe due to their persistence, mobility, and potential health effects. Individual PFAS compounds are commonly monitored at low ppt concentrations, with increasingly stringent limits being introduced.
- Pesticides and pesticide metabolites: Many pesticides, along with their degradation products, must be monitored at trace levels to ensure compliance with drinking water standards and to protect groundwater resources.
- Pharmaceutical residues: Trace amounts of antibiotics, hormones, painkillers, and other pharmaceuticals can enter water supplies through wastewater discharges. Although not all are currently regulated, they are receiving growing regulatory attention and often require ppt-level analytical capability.
- Endocrine-disrupting compounds: Chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) and certain hormones can exhibit biological activity at very low concentrations, making highly sensitive detection essential.
- Industrial contaminants and disinfection by-products: Certain solvents, flame retardants, and by-products formed during water treatment may also require detection at trace concentrations depending on national or EU regulations.
The move toward ppt-level monitoring reflects a broader trend in European water policy: protecting public health through earlier detection of contaminants, more comprehensive monitoring programs, and increasingly precautionary regulatory limits. As a result, analytical laboratories are investing in more sensitive instrumentation, improved sample preparation techniques, and robust quality assurance procedures to meet evolving compliance requirements while ensuring confidence in reported results.
Designed for efficient lab workflows
Performance alone is not enough in routine laboratory work. Implementation, usability and workflow reliability matter just as much. That is why Shimadzu presents the LCMS-8065XE as an all-in-one solution for PFAS applications, combining the instrument with dedicated methods, data analysis software and consumables. This can simplify setup and help laboratories establish dependable workflows more quickly.
Prepared for what’s next
Improvements in the sensitivity of an MS/MS method can often be achieved by reducing the analytical scale of the analysis. Operating at lower flow rates, using smaller sample volumes, and employing narrower chromatography columns can significantly enhance ionization efficiency, allowing lower concentrations of analytes to be detected without compromising data quality.
Reducing the analytical scale also provides several operational and economic benefits. Lower solvent consumption decreases both purchasing costs and hazardous waste disposal expenses. Smaller sample requirements are particularly valuable when sample material is limited or expensive, such as in clinical, pharmaceutical, or biopharmaceutical applications. Additionally, reduced contamination of the ion source and mass spectrometer results in less frequent instrument cleaning, longer maintenance intervals, and increased instrument uptime.
The LCMS-8065XE has therefore been optimized to work for micro-flow operations making it ready for the future.
Lower footprint, smarter operation
Day-to-day efficiency is supported by intelligent assistance functions. Performance Concierge AI automatically checks instrument status and helps keep the system in optimal condition. Ecology Mode monitors usage and powers the instrument down when appropriate, cutting electricity consumption by around 30 percent compared with previous models.
Sustainability goes beyond power savings alone. According to the campaign messaging, the LCMS-8065XE also delivers significantly lower gas consumption while maintaining high sensitivity. For laboratories, this means stronger performance with a smaller environmental footprint.
A system for modern food laboratories
With the LCMS-8065XE, Shimadzu offers a platform that matches the needs of today’s food laboratories: trace-level detection, reliable routine operation and more efficient use of resources. For laboratories under pressure to do more with less, it is a practical step forward without added complexity.
