50 Years of Innovation

1960 - 2010

1974 - 1999: New Analytical Technologies

FT-IR

: 1974: IFS 110, Bruker's first FT-IR spectrometer

Bruker began the development of new infrared spectrometers in the 1970s. Launched in 1974, the IFS 110 was the beginning of a very successful product line that ultimately led to the foundation of the Bruker Optics division. Today, Bruker Optics offers a comprehensive vibrational spectroscopy product-line that includes both the world’s smallest benchtop FT-IR spectrometer for routine use, and the world’s highest resolution FT-IR for advanced research applications.

: 1983: One of the first whole body MRI tomographs

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

Bruker’s already established strengths in NMR naturally led to developments in the field of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Bruker Medizintechnik (Medical) GmbH was formed in 1976, initially offering a range of mobile defibrillators. Later in the decade, Bruker had developed and was producing NMR-based tomography systems for use in clinical and pre-clinical applications, leading eventually to whole-body clinical MRI instrumentation.
Over time, Bruker chose to shift its focus towards pre-clinical systems and became Bruker BioSpin MRI, the currently market leader in the field.

: 1980: MM1 the first mobile detection system

Mass Spectrometry

Industrial production of the first mass spectrometers began in the 1940s. In Germany, an early mass spectrometer was developed in 1948 by Dr. L. Jenckel, head of Atlas MAT (Mess- und Analysentechnik) in Bremen. In 1977 “Dr. Franzen Analysentechnik” was founded in Bremen as a spin-off company from Atlas MAT. Dr. Franzen developed the first tabletop mass spectrometer, based on a quadrupole mass filter and coupled to a GC. A few years later, in 1980, Bruker acquired this company and renamed it “Bruker-Franzen Analytik”, adding robust quadrupole mass spectrometers to the Bruker portfolio. That same year the first mobile detection system, the MM1, proved successful in both the civilian and military markets.

Thanks to Bruker’s existing expertise in NMR and superconducting magnet technology, Bruker Spectrospin in Switzerland successfully developed a new type of mass spectrometer, with the first installations of FT-ICR mass spectrometry systems taking place in 1982. An innovative collaboration Marine Research 1978: Bruker submersible ‘Meermaid’ in action. with the Technical University of Munich in 1983 resulted in a project to investigate resonant laser mass spectrometry. The project’s success ultimately led to Bruker’s introduction of time-of-flight mass spectrometers, an intrinsic part of the product range to this day. In 1990, together with scientists from the former Academy of Science, Bruker founded Bruker Saxonia in Leipzig. As a subsidiary company of Bruker-Franzen Analytik, Bruker Saxonia was dedicated to ion mobility spectrometry.

In 1997 Bruker-Franzen Analytik GmbH was renamed Bruker Daltonik GmbH. The name was chosen to honor John Dalton for his work in formulating the theory of the atomic structure of matter. The development of two new ionization procedures in the late 1980s, electrospray and MALDI, enabled the ionization and analysis of biomolecules. This paved the way for the application of mass spectrometry in molecular biology and molecular medicine. The development of these ionization procedures was honored with a Nobel Prize in 2002.
With the spectrometers being continuously enhanced, Bruker mass spectrometry experienced unexpected growth. Mass spectrometry became a solid base for ground-breaking research in a broad range of sciences, comprising pharmaceutical, life sciences and clinical research. Moreover, Bruker has recently obtained the first IVD-CE mark for the MALDI-TOF-based microbial identification workflow solution, the IVD MALDI Biotyper. This system is pioneering the advancement of mass spectrometry in clinical diagnostics. Global mass spectrometry operations later came under the umbrella of the Bruker Daltonics Group.

X-ray Technologies

: D8 ADVANCE, new generationnew generation of X-ray powder

In 1997 Bruker acquired the X-ray spectroscopy division of Siemens AG, which included prime manufacturing facilities in Karlsruhe and Madison, Wisconsin. Commercial growth, combined with additional company acquisitions, quickly launched Bruker AXS as a leading provider of X-ray analytical instrumentation, significantly extending Bruker’s technology portfolio.

Expansion at Karlsruhe – Formation of Bruker BioSpin

By 1982, Bruker had outgrown its facilities in Rheinstetten. The company purchased a large factory complex in Karlsruhe-Rheinhafen that was perfectly suited to the production of magnets for particle physics research. This site remains the ideal location for magnet production for Bruker’s ultra-high field NMR product line. In 1991, the development and applications center for NMR imaging was opened in the nearby town of Ettlingen, and still serves as a MRI production and demonstration facility.

To guarantee the provision of high-end electronic components for numerous Bruker divisions, Bruker Elektronik GmbH was established in 1985, equipped with state-of-the-art production and testing equipment. With an ever-increasing number of biological applications using magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the company formed the Bruker BioSpin Group in 2001, bringing together all BioSpin companies specializing in magnetic resonance, to ensure market-leading focus and commitment.

Today, Bruker BioSpin is the global market and technology leader in analytical magnetic resonance instrumentation including NMR, preclinical MRI and EPR and delivers the world's most comprehensive range of magnetic resonance analysis tools for life science and analytical research.