The German innovation project targets the reproducibility gap that keeps ion-mobility and imaging mass spectrometry data from being compared reliably across instruments and laboratories.
Polymer Factory has joined LIMMIC, a German innovation project developing a universal standard for calibrating multidimensional mass spectrometry data. Polymer Factory will develop the polymer-based reference standards at its core: the common benchmark needed to make LC-IMS-MS (Liquid Chromatography-Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry) and MS Imaging (MSI) measurements comparable across instruments and laboratories, a persistent barrier in metabolomics, lipidomics and related fields.
In the project, Polymer Factory provides the calibration standards, mzio builds the calibration software and integrates it into the open-source MZmine platform, and CeMOS develops specialized workflows for oxidized lipids.
The opportunity is substantial. The global mass spectrometry imaging market was valued at around USD 4.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 7.4 billion by 2034 (Market.us), within a broader mass spectrometry market worth more than USD 7 billion, yet reliable cross-platform calibration remains an unmet need.
"Ion mobility and imaging mass spectrometry are a large and fast-growing field, and the value of that data only compounds when results can be compared across instruments and laboratories," says Mats Wallnér, CEO of Polymer Factory. "That common reference is exactly what we build, and LIMMIC lets us develop and validate our SpheriCal® standards for these multidimensional workflows."
LIMMIC is partially funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).