---
title: "TIMSTOF Flex MALDI-2: A Quadrupole TOF instrument capable of rapid MALDI MS imaging with high spatial resolution, laser post-ionisation and ion mobility separation"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-03a6fb"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03a6fb"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03a6fb.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03a6fb.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY"
published: "2023-02-20"
---

# TIMSTOF Flex MALDI-2: A Quadrupole TOF instrument capable of rapid MALDI MS imaging with high spatial resolution, laser post-ionisation and ion mobility separation

Buyer: NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-03a6fb

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## Summary

The National Physical Laboratory in the UK has awarded a contract for the procurement of a TIMSTOF Flex MALDI-2 instrument for high throughput mass spectrometry imaging studies. The instrument, purchased from Bruker UK Ltd, features advanced MALDI-2 post-ionisation technology and high spatial resolution capabilities. The contract, valued at £1,600,000 GBP, was signed on 20th February 2023.

This tender presents an opportunity for businesses specialising in laboratory, optical, and precision equipment to provide innovative solutions for high spatial resolution mass spectrometry imaging. Companies with expertise in MALDI technology and ion mobility separation are well-suited to compete in this tender. The procurement method used was a limited award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition, tailored to the unique features of the required instrument.

## Notice

Our large-scale mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) studies require high throughput, high spatial resolution MSI analysis of multiple tissue sections, on multiple slides. Currently, of commercially available MSI instruments, matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation (MALDI) provides the best combination of spatial resolution and throughput. Crucially, high sensitivity for both lipids and metabolites must also be achieved. MALDI-2 has recently been shown to provide unrivalled limit-of-detection for a range of lipid and metabolite classes at high spatial resolution. The Bruker timsTOF Flex MALDI-2 instrument is the only commercially available instrument to feature MALDI-2 post ionisation and 5um pixel size MSI

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation (MALDI) provides the highest commercially available spatial resolution for high throughput multi-slide analysis of biological samples by MSI. Recent advances in laser post-ionisation, termed MALDI-2, have demonstrated significant improvement in limit-of-detection for a range of analyte classes. The timsToF Flex MALDI-2 microGRID instrument should feature a dual electrospray and MALDI MSI ion source. It should feature MALDI-2 laser post-ionisation functionality and 5 um pixel size microGRID technology. It should provide 60,000 mass resolving power and scan rates of 20Hz. The instrument should also provide trapped ion mobility separation technology (TIMS) MSI functionality.

### Procurement Information

The Bruker timsTOF Flex with MALDI-2 is the only commercially available instrument to provide MALDI-2 post ionisation withiwth high throughput imaging at 5 um pixel size. Unique features of this instrument include: 1. MALDI MSI with MALDI-2 post-ionisation MSI 2. MALDI MSI 5 um pixel size microGRID technology 3. Trapped ion mobility spectrometry with MALDI imaging and MALDI-2 post-ionisation

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005077-2023 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 20 Feb 2023 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 20 Feb 2023 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £1,600,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY |
| Locality | TEDDINGTON |
| Post town | Twickenham |
| Postcode | TW11 0LW |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI7 Outer London - West and North West |
| ITL 3 | TLI75 Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames |
| Local authority | Richmond upon Thames |
| Electoral ward | Teddington |
| Westminster constituency | Twickenham |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | BRUKER |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

### Codes

- 38000000 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)

## Release History

- 20 Feb 2023 at 16:26 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/005077-2023

## Notice URLs

- http://www.npl.co.uk

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03a6fb. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03a6fb.json.