Bruker Unveils Major 4D Proteomics Breakthrough to Advance Disease Biology Research

At ASMS 2026, Bruker announced a series of innovative technological advancements, including a performance breakthrough in 4D proteomics, functional analysis of protein variants, and hybrid metabolomics methods, aimed at propelling disease biology research into a new phase.

Dr. Frank H. Laukien, President and CEO of Bruker, emphasized that protein variants are the fundamental units of molecular disease. A single gene can produce over 50 protein variants, meaning that from just 20,000 genes, more than 1 million functional human protein variants can be generated. The newly launched timsOmni system from Bruker, which combines trapped ion mobility and trapped ExD technology, increases the sensitivity of top-down analysis fourfold. When paired with the AI-driven OmniScape 2027 software, it significantly accelerates the translational path from discovery to biomarkers, precision medicine, and new therapies.

In the realm of 4D shotgun proteomics, the Bruker timsUltra AIP system, integrated with the razor-PASEF method and Spectronaut 21 software, has achieved the identification and quantification of over 10,000 proteins in HeLa cell lines. It consistently identifies more than 6,500 proteins at a throughput of 500 samples per day. A translational oncology project at the University Hospital Tübingen in Germany has already utilized this technology to routinely quantify over 10,000 proteins in FFPE biopsy tissues, providing insights into functional pathways and therapeutic strategies for complex cancer cases where genomics alone cannot yield conclusive results.

Furthermore, Bruker introduced the unique timsMRMS system, which combines TIMS with ultra-high-resolution magnetic resonance mass spectrometry, achieving a mass resolution capability of up to 10 million and mass accuracy at the parts-per-billion level. This system is suitable for analyzing ultra-complex mixtures in the energy industry. The company also initiated an early user program for hybrid metabolomics, enabling both kit-based absolute quantification and unbiased 4D metabolomics discovery in a single experiment. Following the acquisition of TOFWERK earlier this year, Bruker has further launched an air exposomics initiative. This program integrates real-time volatile organic compound monitoring with 4D metabolomics and lipidomics to explore the links between environmental exposures and respiratory diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer.