2019

The year 2020 marks 50 years since the release of Shimadzu's first mass spectrometry device, the LKB-9000. Over the past half 2018
century, our passion for innovation has led to multiple ground-breaking developments in MS technology. With our considerable 2017 MALDImini-1
experience in the field, we take this opportunity to reflect on the past and look towards the future of MS. Through this we 2016 LCMS-9030
reaffirm our commitment as a company: to provide revolutionary products and services that contribute to society through 2013 DPiMS-2020
technology, sustaining the health of the planet and of humankind. 2012 ICPMS-2030

iMScope
2010
Shimadzu's Beginnings A New Generation of GCMS-TQ8030

Mass Spectrometers 2004

1875 Shimadzu founded Japan's first
quadrupole LC-MS/MS:
2012 GCMS-TQ8030
The history of Shimadzu as a company begins with its founding in 1978 Began to develop key 2002 LCMS-8030 Incorporating the same technology that enabled the high-speed
LC/MS/MS analysis of the LCMS-8030, the GCMS-TQ8030 achieved
Kyoto in 1875 by Genzo Shimadzu Sr., initially as a producer of physics
and chemistry equipment. The company was expanded by Genzo Jr.
technologies for quadrupole MS LCMS-IT-TOF
world-leading sensitivity and speed. This was the first triple quadrupole
between 1894-1916 to grapple with emerging technologies such as 1992 GC-MS/MS to be produced in Japan.
AXIMA-QIT
batteries and X-ray equipment, which contributed to Japan's manu- Out of the system
-（U＋V cos ωt ）

facturing industry as well as advances in the medical field. y

Ion detector 1988 2002 AXIMA-QIT
Kompact MALDI III/II
x
z r The AXIMA-QIT was the world’s first MALDI-TOF MS to
Impact
-（U＋V cos ωt ） 1982 combine ion trap and TOF methods. This allowed detailed
Ionization unit
The world's first structural analysis of complex molecules.
MALDI-TOF MS:
1981 LAMS-50K
Japan's first GC-MS:
2015 LCMS-8060
GCMS-QP1000
1978 High-performance 2002 Koichi Tanaka awarded The successful release of the LCMS-8050 in 2013 was followed quickly
by the LCMS-8060, a high-end triple quadrupole MS, which improved
double-focusing GC-MS:
GCMS 9020-DF the Nobel Prize upon the ion path of the 8050 and achieved three times the sensitivity.

1970
Began to develop key

The Birth of MALDI-TOF

Koichi Tanaka received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the
technologies for development of soft desorption ionization methods for MS analysis of
quadrupole MS biological macromolecules. The Koichi Tanaka Mass Spectrometry
The world's first GC-MS: Research Laboratory was established in 2003.
LKB-9000
1988 LAMS-50K Laser

1875
S: Sample

Shimadzu released the world’s first

Co: Cobalt
G: Glycerin

MALDI-TOF MS device, and 2018 GCMS-TQ8050 NX

subsequently produced various
example analyses of high molecular Sample plate
Shimadzu released the GCMS-TQ8050 NX, an ultra-high-sensitivity
Founding of 1981 GCMS 9020-DF weight compounds. This drama- triple quadrupole GC-MS for pioneering research in new fields. It is
Shimadzu tically expanded the possible uses capable of performing unprecedented quantitative analyses of
This high-performance double- of mass spectrometry. ultra-trace amounts, down to the femtogram level.
focusing GCMS enabled MS/MS
The Era of Triple Quad
The Early Days of
analysis by employing a unique ion
optical system with a preceding
1989 Acquired Kratos
Mass Spectrometry
magnetic sector. Compatible with
several ionization methods, the 2010 LCMS-8030
GCMS 9020-DF could be used to Group Plc. in the UK
elucidate the structure of com- The LCMS-8030 was the first domestically-produced quadrupole

1970 LKB-9000 pounds. LC-MS/MS, at the same time achieving world-fastest detection speeds.
This met customer needs for processing a high number of samples for
In cooperation with the Swedish
applications in life-science research, residual pesticide analysis in 2018 LCMS-9030
foodstuffs, pharmaceutical metabolite detection, environmental
firm LKB, Shimadzu introduced the
world’s first mass-produced GC-MS 1992 Kompact MALDI III/II pollution monitoring, etc. As the first domestically-produced triple quadrupole time-of-flight LC-MS,
the LCMS-9030 allowed Shimadzu to make their mark on the high-
(magnetic sector MS) to Japan. This
formed a blueprint for future
1982 GCMS-QP1000 The Kompact MALDI III/II enabled resolution market. Precise, sensitive and reliable mass measurements can
Shimadzu GC/MS devices. the analysis of a wide range of com- be carried out with remarkably simple operations, increasing the accessi-
Shimadzu released Japan’s first pounds including peptides, proteins, bility of such high-sensitivity analysis.
general-purpose quadrupole polysaccharides, complex lipids,
GC-MS. The combination of high nucleic acids, pharmaceuticals and
functionality and ease-of-use metabolites.
helped to popularize GC/MS tech-
nology in Japan.

Shimadzu's Unique Technologies

Shimadzu has developed several instruments and tech- 2004 LCMS-IT-TOF 2013 iMScope 2017 DPiMS-2020 2019 MALDImini™-1
nologies that are completely unique. The establishment of
Shimadzu released a world-first hybrid LC/MS model The iMScope mass imaging microscope boasts the Shimadzu released the DPiMS-2020 Direct Probe The MALDImini-1 is a high-sensitivity MALDI MS
Innovation Centers around the world serves to promote this fusing IT and TOF, enabling structural analysis etc. power of both mass spectrometry and optical micro- Ionization Mass Spectrometer. capable of MS n measurements. It is nonetheless
with MSn capabilities. scopy in one hybrid instrument. It can merge precise, astonishingly compact thanks to the use of pioneer-
cutting-edge research and development in collaboration
high-quality MS images and optical images. ing Digital Ion Trap (DIT) technology. It fits on a bench
with our customers. In these ways, Shimadzu continually space equivalent to an A3 piece of paper.
strives to contribute to society through the use of new
technologies.