MILFORD, Mass. -- June 1, 2026 — Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) today announced the launch of the Waters Cyclic IMS P20 Mass Spectrometer, a high-resolution structural and spatial omics platform designed to help scientists see biology more clearly, and act on it faster. Combining multipass Cyclic Ion Mobility Spectrometry with an enhanced suite of fragmentation, probing, and imaging capabilities, this unique and powerful instrument delivers confident insights for the early detection of disease signals, from protein misfolding to post-translational modifications. The system's full‑spectrum molecular imaging unlocks unparalleled visualization within a single experiment to accelerate discovery and development, and power deeper understanding of complex biology.
"Waters recognizes that advanced tools for structural and spatial omics play a critical role in delivering therapeutic breakthroughs," said James Hallam, Vice President & General Manager, Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry, Waters Analytical Sciences, Waters Corporation. "With its powerful fusion of capabilities, the Cyclic IMS P20 MS delivers a previously unattainable view into subtle molecular differences, unlocking a new level of understanding of the mechanisms that drive disease and advancing next‑generation discovery."
As researchers pursue larger and more heterogeneous therapeutic targets, analytical workflows need higher sensitivity, higher structural resolution, and easier-to-adopt methods. The Cyclic IMS P20 Mass Spectrometer meets that need with a more than a 10-fold increase in MS/MS sensitivity compared to its predecessor, an upper mass range extended by more than 50 percent to over 100 kDa, and a set of complementary structural probing approaches, including tandem ion mobility spectrometry (IMSn), electron-capture dissociation (ECD), surface-induced dissociation (SID), and collision-induced unfolding (CIU) – delivering the most comprehensive spatial and structural molecular view within a single platform.
"My lab studies proteins involved in misfoldings that drive human disease, which are notoriously difficult to characterize. We leverage the advanced capabilities of Cyclic IMS P20 MS to perform complex tandem ion mobility experiments on low‑abundance forms of a key molecule involved in the pathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes," said Kostas Thalassinos, Professor of Mass Spectrometry and Academic Lead, Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, University College London. "The increase in sensitivity delivered by the new functionality is truly remarkable. It stands to significantly accelerate our analyses, potentially by an order of magnitude, and enables us to probe critical low‑abundance species in far greater detail. These rare molecular populations are essential for delineating the mechanisms that drive human disease."
The Cyclic IMS P20 Mass Spectrometer also brings Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization (MALDI) and Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) imaging sources together in one system, pioneering their combination with advanced multipass cyclic ion mobility and IMS separation to help researchers see more, with greater clarity, directly in their samples. This unique approach broadens coverage across small molecules, lipids, peptides, and proteins, while separating isobaric and stereoisomeric compounds.
Additionally, the system delivers multidimensional insights that elucidate links between molecular composition and the tissue microenvironment, supporting biomarker identication directly from tissue. These rich, easily-interpreted molecular maps provide increased confidence in lipidomics, drug, and metabolite localization, translational research, and other experiments requiring visualization.
The Waters Cyclic IMS P20 Mass Spectrometer will be showcased at ASMS 2026 and is expected to be available globally beginning September 2026. For more information or to request a demo, visit product page.
