IonOpticks Launches Aurora Series 5 with Enhanced Robustness

IonOpticks, a global leader in high-performance chromatography solutions for LC-MS-based proteomics, has introduced the Aurora Series 5, a significant upgrade to its existing platform. This new version, which includes the CoreJet integrated emitter technology and a redesigned nanoZero union, promises to enhance robustness and reliability while maintaining the depth and sensitivity that researchers have come to expect.

The Aurora Series 5 has been tested extensively on Thermo Scientific Vanquish Neo UHPLC coupled to an Orbitrap Astral Zoom mass spectrometer. The results showed that the new series could sustain over 10,000 unique protein identifications across more than 1,000 injections on an 8-minute, 120-samples-per-day method, with no increase in backpressure beyond 1,400 runs. This performance is crucial for researchers who need to run large-scale experiments and routine proteomics studies.

According to Xavier Perronnet, CEO of IonOpticks, "Aurora Series has built its reputation on depth of coverage, sensitivity, and reproducibility. However, researchers increasingly need exceptional performance they can rely on every day. With Series 5, we have combined that performance with a new level of robustness, giving laboratories the confidence to use these columns routinely across demanding workflows."

The CoreJet integrated emitter technology is a key feature of the Aurora Series 5. It introduces a completely redesigned architecture for the integrated pulled emitter, ensuring true-zero dead volume post-column and eliminating the concealed unions between column and emitter that create dead volumes, degrade chromatographic performance, and reduce analyte discovery. This new architecture is engineered to deliver substantially greater robustness, improving resistance to early clogging and overpressure events, extending column longevity, and supporting prolonged use across increasingly complex sample series.

Dr. Jarrod Sandow, Chief Product Officer at IonOpticks, explained, "True robustness is about more than how long a column lasts. It is about continuing to deliver the depth of coverage, sensitivity, and throughput researchers expect, despite the variable and demanding conditions of everyday laboratory use. Across extended testing, Aurora Series 5 maintained its chromatographic performance through more than 1,400 injections. For researchers running everything from individual experiments to large sample cohorts, that means greater confidence that the chromatography will perform consistently, day after day."

The redesigned nanoZero union in the Aurora Series 5 also plays a significant role in improving spray stability. It provides a more reliable voltage connection to the liquid passing through the column, which is essential for stable electrospray ionisation. This process transfers molecules leaving the column into the mass spectrometer for measurement. By creating a more dependable electrical connection, the redesigned nanoZero union supports further improved spray stability over large sample cohorts while making column setup simpler and easier.

Aurora Series 5 maintains the strong column-to-column and batch-to-batch reproducibility for which Aurora Series is known. Across all testing, coefficients of variation remain below one percent for median protein and peptide identifications, supporting consistent performance across a column's service life and from column to column. Spray stability remains similarly consistent throughout prolonged testing across both instrument platforms. On the Thermo Scientific Vanquish Neo coupled to an Orbitrap Astral Zoom, and the Bruker nanoElute 2 coupled to a timsTOF HT, extended injection series show no spray dropouts, with consistent signal maintained throughout testing.

For laboratories processing hundreds or even thousands of samples, the value of Aurora Series 5 extends beyond column lifetime alone. Greater stability means fewer unexpected interruptions and column changes, less time spent troubleshooting, more effective use of valuable mass spectrometry capacity, and greater confidence that an extended experiment can continue on a consistent chromatographic platform. This translates to a meaningful reduction in laboratory overheads and helps researchers make better use of both instrument time and research budgets.

When paired with an IonOpticks NanoShield C18 trap column, Aurora Series 5 gains additional protection from sample-derived contamination while significantly reducing sample loading times. By protecting the analytical column from more challenging samples, NanoShield can extend Aurora Series 5 column life even further, creating a workflow that combines speed, lossless protection, and high-performance chromatography with an even more compelling value proposition than established market alternatives.

Aurora Series 5 represents a shift in what laboratories can expect from high-performance nanoflow chromatography. The depth and sensitivity remain, but they are now delivered through a platform designed to withstand the demands of everyday proteomics, whether that means a landmark discovery experiment, a large-scale cohort, or the hundreds of routine injections in between.

IonOpticks will retain limited Aurora Series 4 stock during the transition period to support continuity for existing customers and ongoing studies. Aurora Series 5 with CoreJet integrated emitter technology is available across the range from 15 September 2026, directly from IonOpticks and through its global distribution network.