The Thermo Scientific™ Orbitrap Exploris™ EFOX Mass Detector presents a groundbreaking solution for environmental and food safety laboratories, offering high-resolution analysis capabilities that simplify workflows and enhance PFAS detection without the complexity and costs associated with traditional systems.
Across the globe, environmental and food safety laboratories face a rapidly shifting landscape. Each year brings new PFAS variants, pesticide degradants, and industrial chemicals, providing an expanding universe of organic xenobiotics that quietly enter food, soil, and water. For the analysts at the bench, this complexity isn’t abstract. It arrives one sample at a time, paired with immense pressure to safeguard public health, while working faster than ever before.
Traditional high-resolution instruments deliver extraordinary capability, yet they often require time, expertise, and resources that routine labs simply don’t have. Behind every vial is a person – a farmer, a family, a community – depending on the certainty of the lab’s results. And behind every result is a team striving to do more with tools that, up to now, have not been designed for modern regulatory demands.
Routine laboratories need high-resolution power without the historic barriers of cost, complexity, and time.
The limitations of conventional LCMS workflows
Even when labs secure high-resolution accurate mass (HRAM) technology, workflow complexity often becomes its own barrier. Conventional liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LCMS) systems introduce friction throughout the entire analytical process:
- Methods require compound-specific MS/MS optimisation
- Adding new compounds forces time-consuming revalidation
- Data review demands specialised expertise
- Method development slows throughput
- Costs restrict adoption in smaller labs
- Constantly evolving regulations require future-proof methods
As regulatory requirements accelerate – particularly for PFAS – the gap continues to widen. More questions emerge, but existing tools limit how quickly laboratories can provide answers. Routine labs are left managing a system without the flexibility to support today’s pace of change.
Orbitrap Exploris EFOX Mass Detector: A new path forward for PFAS and beyond
The Orbitrap Exploris EFOX (Environmental Food Organic Xenobiotics) Mass Detector is empowering the field of environmental and food safety testing. As the industry’s first HRAM system, it is designed to satisfy industry demands with the ability to perform targeted analysis and precise quantitation, suspect screening, as well as sample profiling.
Unlike traditional high-resolution systems, which are typically research platforms retrofitted to handle routine testing, the Orbitrap Exploris EFOX Mass Detector delivers research-grade performance that is purpose-built for everyday workflows. It brings the award-winning Orbitrap technology used for deep protein and small molecule analysis into routine labs, enabling extremely low-level PFAS detection with the same confidence and precision. With intuitive operation and minimal setup, labs can move from sample to result in minutes – without sacrificing data quality or throughput.
What makes the Orbitrap Exploris EFOX Mass Detector different?
- Full-scan HRAM acquisition that eliminates MS/MS optimisation
- Retrospective analysis that future-proofs workflows
- Compliance-ready methods for PFAS, pesticides, and more
- Accessible price point designed for routine labs
- Intuitive, guided workflows through Thermo Scientific™ Chromeleon™ software
- Seamless integration with Thermo Scientific™ Vanquish™ dual channel UHPLC systems
“The Orbitrap Exploris EFOX Mass Detector was developed with routine labs at the centre,” says Aristide Ganci, product manager. “We wanted to create a high-resolution system that removes complexity, accelerates compliance, and gives every lab the confidence to protect public health.”
The Orbitrap Exploris EFOX Mass Detector can help you redefine what routine high-resolution testing can be for your lab, helping you work faster and with more confidence.
The technology that makes simplicity possible
At the heart of the Orbitrap Exploris EFOX Mass Detector is a technology known worldwide for its exceptional resolving power and mass accuracy. Its strength lies not only in precision, but in how smoothly the entire workflow unfolds.
Because the system captures every ion in every run, this full-scan data approach gives laboratories a level of universal flexibility they have never had before. Users can add new analytes at any time, screen for emerging contaminants instantly, perform quantitation and suspect screening simultaneously, and avoid redevelopment or revalidation cycles altogether.
Smart CID fragmentation for enhanced identification
Multiple full-scan segments with different collision energies generate richer mass spectra, which leads to more accurate compound quantitation through ion-ratio confirmation, enables reliable library searching, and supports the elimination of interferences.
Retrospective analysis gives you answers before questions arise
A sample collected today may contain contaminants that won’t be regulated until next year. With Orbitap Exploris EFOX Mass Detector, labs can revisit existing data at any time, allowing future compliance to be achieved from work that has already been completed.
A complete ecosystem designed for reliability
Orbitrap Exploris EFOX Mass Detector integrates seamlessly with:
- Vanquish™ Flex dual channel UHPLC platform
- Dual Split Sampler
- OptaMax™ NG and EASY-IC™ ion sources
- Chromeleon software with guided control and reporting
The result is a workflow that feels both modern and durable, built to withstand the pressure of heavy, routine use.
Out-of-the-box workflows that accelerate PFAS compliance
Regulatory agencies continue to expand contaminant lists and tighten detection limits, placing laboratories in a constant race to stay ahead of changing requirements. The Orbitrap Exploris EFOX Mass Detector helps them stay strong by providing application-ready workflows designed to meet modern compliance challenges with confidence.
These workflows support high-resolution detection of PFAS, including both regulated compounds and emerging contaminants. They also streamline pesticide analysis by simplifying quantitation and broad-spectrum screening. Beyond these established applications, Orbitrap Exploris EFOX Mass Detector is equipped to handle identification, profiling, and suspect analysis for any new or emerging organic xenobiotics, ensuring laboratories remain prepared as future regulatory demands evolve.
Read more in our application note: Out-of-the-box workflow for PFAS quantitation using a full-scan high-resolution approach with the Orbitrap Exploris MX mass spectrometer.
Empowering laboratories today for a safer tomorrow
Simplifying workflows accelerates nearly every aspect of laboratory operations, and the Orbitrap Exploris EFOX Mass Detector delivers this impact by reducing complexity and enabling faster decision-making. New methods can be deployed almost immediately, boosting throughput and allowing laboratories to adapt quickly to emerging analytical challenges. Streamlined processes also help lower the total cost of ownership by minimising re-runs, conserving consumables, and reducing technician time.
Beyond operational efficiency, EFOX provides high-resolution accuracy and robust data processing that strengthen confidence across both targeted and untargeted analyses. This clarity improves decision-making and enhances data defensibility, ensuring laboratories can meet today’s demands with precision.
The benefits extend far beyond the laboratory walls. More reliable data contributes to cleaner water, healthier soil, and safer food – directly supporting public and environmental health. As contaminants evolve and regulations expand, laboratories will remain the frontline guardians of safety. The Orbitrap Exploris EFOX Mass Detector equips them for that responsibility, offering powerful yet practical high-resolution detection and the flexibility to answer tomorrow’s questions using today’s data.
For more information, visit Environmental and Food Analysis Solutions | Thermo Fisher Scientific – US
