timePlex: Increasing mass spectrometry throughput using time-encoded sample multiplexing

TimePlex multiplexes LC-MS separations in the time domain, enabling a 27-plex setup (3-timePlex and 9-plexDIA) to exceed 1,200 samples per day with 4M protein datapoints.

• Why it matters: LC-MS quantification is limited by how many samples can be analyzed per unit time, and existing mass-domain multiplexing scales only linearly.
• What they did: The method staggers and overlaps separation periods across samples, and is combined with plexDIA; it is also described as orthogonal to isotopic multiplexing for combinatorial scaling.
• The result: In a demonstrated 27-plex configuration, the approach supports sensitive, accurate protein quantification and enables multiplicative throughput gains for both label-free and labeled samples.

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