Agilent and Baylor College of Medicine to open mass spectrometry centre

Agilent has announced the opening of a new mass spectrometry centre of excellence on the campus of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

The company has allied with the Texan establishment to advance research and training in the field of metabolomics, an important branch of the life sciences in which both organisations possess considerable expertise.

Dubbed the Agilent Technologies Mass Spectrometry Center of Excellence, the new facility will be part of the Alkek Center for Molecular Discovery and the Baylor College of Medicine Core Laboratory, within the college's department of molecular and cellular biology.

It will be equipped with an Agilent 6495 triple quadrupole LC/MS system and an Agilent 6550 iFunnel quadrupole time-of-flight LC/MS system with switchable GC APCI interface. Both devices feature Mass Hunter analysis software and Mass Profiler Professional with Pathway Architect technology.

Carl Raimond, Agilent's vice-president of sales and field operations within its American life sciences division, said: "Our collaborative relationship with Baylor and our shared investment in this new centre will foster development of advanced research tools and new applications in metabolomics and integrated biology."

During the 2014 business year, the company experienced year-on-year growth of three percent. It recently span off its electronic measurements business as an independent organisation called Keysight Technologies.