Mysterious Peaks in MS3 spectra of RTS-TMT and TMT Pro

[ItsBiniR]

Hi Everyone,

I have noticed the presence two mysterious peaks in almost every MS3 spectra acquired under RTS-SPS-MS3 mode on Eclipse.. These peaks are highlighted in the pic here.. I see them with both TMT and TMT Pro labels across different types of samples, and even with the Thermo Yeast TKO TMT Standard runs.. However, these peaks are not seen in TMT-MS2 acquisitions.. Have anyone else noticed this?? Any suggestion on where to start the investigation to uncover the mystery?? All leads are welcome.. Although those mysterious peaks are not impacting the outcome of the experiment, the mystery is kind of unsettling until it get resolved.. I am ready with my Sherlock hat on 😉

Thanks,

Bini

 

[Molly_I2]

Hi @ItsBiniR - i will seek support from the team for you. Thank you so much for posting a question in our online community! We are grateful for this and will work to find you support - Molly

[IofEyes1]

These peaks are most likely noise, created by respectively, the ion trap RF (~150) and the quad RF (at ~180).  They would typically be eliminated from the displayed spectrum as exception peaks.  There is a diagnostic  “measure quad in Orbitrap” that would measure that frequency independently and update the exception list. Also exception peaks are typically hidden in QualBrowser/Freestyle, but can be viewed/hidden if this setting is changed.

[ItsBiniR]

Many thanks for the response... I have two follow up questions...

1. As those 150 and 181 are not removed from the displayed spectrum as exception peaks, can this mean electronic noise may not be the source of these?? (sometimes the peak 150 is flagged as 'M' for merged peaks)

2. Can I get a little help in locating "measure quad in Orbitrap" in Eclipse diagnostics?? I see options for scanning RF and DC  for quad under Hardware>Devices>Readbacks. Are these the ones which can update the exception list? 

Thanks Again..

[IofEyes1]

The peaks may appears if the signal is low and/or the exception peaks are set to be shown in QualBrowser/Freestyle.