Background:
Notice is hereby given by the University of Ottawa of the intent to enter into a contract with Waters Limited to
procure the following:
An LC-MS Quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer with ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) is to
be purchased. This system is comprised of a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer with vacuum pumps,
computer workstation for instrument control and mass calibration standards. A UPLC is part of the configuration.
This system will be integrated into the John L Holmes (JLH) Mass Spectrometry Core Facility at the University of
Ottawa.
Process:
Suppliers who consider their equipment functional, successfully tested, readily available and fully compliant to the
ACAN minimum requirements may submit in writing a statement of specifications to the contact person identified
in this Notice, on or before the closing date of this Notice. In the statement of specifications, the supplier must
unequivocally demonstrate how their equipment, at minimum, equals, or exceeds the stated requirements.
If no other supplier submits a statement of specifications, on or before the closing date of this Notice, the
competitive requirements of the University of Ottawa will be considered having been met.
Following notification to suppliers not successful in unequivocally demonstrating that their statement of
specifications equals or exceeds the requirements set out in this Notice, the contract may then be awarded to the
pre-identified supplier.
Date of issue: June 21st, 2023
Closing Date: July 17th, 2023 at 3:00:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
Minimum Requirements:
1. Must be a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer
2. Must be able to switch between electrospray ionization and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization
modes without changing the source
3. Must incorporate a solid-sample introduction system
4. Must have mass range of 100,000 m/z
5. Must have mass accuracy of 1 ppm RMS
6. Must include Z-spray orthogonal ion source geometry
7. Must have a mass resolution > 45,000 FWHM
8. Must have a mass accuracy < 1 ppm RMS at m/z 600
9. Must include software programmable collision energy control
10. Must include a high efficiency step-wave guide comparable to that included with the Xevo G3. The
step-wave guide in the Xevo G3 represents an improvement of 25-60 times over that of previous
generations which results in less contamination from samples in the vacuum manifold of the
instrument. This in turn results in more robust performance and less downtime.
11. Must run instrument control software that is compatible with, and outputs results in the same format
as, current laboratory equipment. The existing equipment for which synchronicity is required is as
follows: Waters High Performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC), Waters Synap G1 ion mobility
tandem Mass Spectrometer.
12. Must include a UPLC with quaternary solvent gradient capability and two independently heated column
holders
13. Installation and Training must be included
14. A total of 5 years of warranty must be included
Justification:
The requested benchtop Waters Xevo G3 QToF mass spectrometer incorporates an enhanced sensitivity
collision cell for improved product ion mass selection, resulting in the highest quality and most
comprehensive qualitative information, coupled with the ultimate in quantitative performance. It is
required to identify, quantify and confirm the broadest range of compounds in the natural product
extracts that we will encounter in this research program. It includes a dual orthogonal ion source for both
electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) mass spectrometry, allowing us to
examine polar and non-polar compounds in a single LC run. This capability increases throughput (one LC
run instead of two) and provides a more efficient use of small, difficult to obtain samples. It can also
switch between positive and negative ions. Polarity switching means molecular species that do not readily
form -positive ions under electrospray or APCI conditions can still be detected (examples of these are
organic acids, sugars and phenols). With these capabilities we can fully characterize our samples without
missing any chemical by-products and intermediates.
A mass range of 100,000 is required for the analysis of intact biological molecules like proteins that will be
a part of our complex samples in the research program.
The step-wave guide in the Xevo G3 results in less contamination from samples in the vacuum manifold of
the instrument than any other instrument on the market, resulting in more robust performance and less
downtime, a critical feature for our research program and the Core Facility.
The Xevo G3 operates with the MassLynx software system (only found on Waters instruments) that is
common to three other instruments in the JLH Facility. This simplifies student training and allows data
and sample submission to be spread across the infrastructure in the facility. Other manufacturers have
their own proprietary software. Data file formats differ from one company to another, which means we
cannot transfer data between instruments from different vendors. Students must analyze data on
different platforms that do not output results in the same format, making direct comparisons difficult.
University Contact:
Owen Bouley
Agent d'approvisionnement, recherche | Procurement Officer, Research
Groupe de Gestion des Projets Stratégiques (GGPS) | Service des Approvisionnements
Strategic Project Management Group (SPMG) | Procurement Services
Université d'Ottawa | University of Ottawa
550 Cumberland (L315), Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N8
Tél. | Tel.: (613) 562-5800 ext. 3966
Courriel | eMail : obouley@uottawa.ca
