superlimator

superlimator™

Streamline Imaging with Push-Button Sample Preparation

Reproducible

Automated, validated protocols ensure consistent, reliable sample preparation across a wide range of matrices by simultaneously eliminating operator-dependent variables.

Efficient

Efficient matrix transfer delivers 75% yield with less than 5 mg of matrix per sample, reducing waste and lowering cost per slide. Sublimation and Recrystallization workflows are integrated in one device.

Intuitive

The integrated touch display delivers a user interface with simple step-by-step workflows, making the instrument intuitive to use.

Precise

Preserves spatial integrity: Solvent-free sublimation technology keeps drugs, lipids, and metabolites exactly where they are in the tissue, so your spatial maps reflect biology, not sample prep artifacts.

Your Mass Spec Is Reproducible. Is Your Matrix Coating?

Many spatial techniques face challenges with method transfer and reproducibility across laboratories. MALDI Imaging doesn’t have to. superlimator™’s automated workflow ensures highly reproducible sample preparation independent of device, site, or user.

In tests across three superlimator™ units and three widely used matrices (DHAP, DHB, CHCA), matrix transfer consistently reached 75 ± 5%.

This reliability enables truly consistent and comparable MALDI Imaging results, whether the data comes from your own instrument, a collaborator’s lab, an experienced operator, or someone new to the workflow.

Matrix transfer achieves reproducibility with a standard deviation of <5% across different instruments and matrices.

Reproducibility When You Need It. Flexibility When You Want It.

Ion images from MALDI samples prepared with superlimator and measured on timsTOF fleX or neofleX by different operators: testis (DHAP), kidney (NEDC), brain (NEDC), kidney (HiPLEX, CHCA).

superlimator™ is built for both routine operation and discovery driven research. Validated, ready to use protocols for common MALDI matrices ensure reproducible results from day one, while customizable parameters give experienced users the freedom to optimize conditions, explore new matrices, and adapt workflows for novel applications. All within one intuitive platform.

Validated protocols also hold up over time, so results you generate today remain comparable months later which is critical for longitudinal studies and multi-site collaborations.

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2-in-1 Solution: Sublimation and Recrystallization Workflows Combined into One Device

If you already use a Bruker mass spectrometer and SCiLS™ software, superlimator™ completes the picture. Purpose-built for Bruker's MALDI Imaging ecosystem and optimized for IntelliSlides^® and fleXmatrix^® kits, it slots directly into your validated workflow with no method development required and no third-party integration headaches.

By combining matrix sublimation and controlled recrystallization in one automated device, it also eliminates the need for separate tools and manual handling. One platform. One validated workflow. From slide to image to insight.

Enabling High‑Confidence Biology at Cellular Resolution

Image courtesy of Jan Schwenzfeier, University of Münster.

Single cell MALDI Imaging requires matrix layers that preserve the molecular integrity of individual cells.

For biologists studying cell heterogeneity, tumor microenvironments, organoids, or rare cell populations, even slight analyte delocalization can blur biologically meaningful differences.

superlimator™ supports these applications by producing ultra thin, uniform matrix coatings that maintain cellular detail and enable reliable detection of metabolites and lipids at single cell scale. Its automated sublimation workflow ensures consistent sample preparation across slides, helping researchers generate reproducible data and focus on the biology rather than the preparation steps.

Fast, Efficient, and Designed for Seamless Lab Integration

superlimator™ combines fast performance with a lab ready design. Common MALDI matrices typically sublimate within just 5–10 minutes, enabling quick turnaround and supporting high throughput workflows.

Its compact footprint fits seamlessly into standard laboratory environments, requiring minimal bench space while integrating smoothly into existing setups.

The device is also highly efficient, using only very small amounts of matrix for reducing waste and lowering the cost per slide.

Technical Features

Fast	5 - 10 minutes for standard matrices
Easy	Validated workflows available
Reproducible	< 5% standard deviation of matrix transfer between different matrices and instruments
Efficient	Reliable / reproducible matrix transfer of 75% Homogenous Solvent free Contamination free

"I never expected mass‑spec sample prep to be this simple. Thanks to the superlimator’s intuitive and reproducible workflow, achieving 5 µm spatial resolution in our MALDI Imaging experiments has complemented our spatial proteomics and multimodal research in an impressive way."

Prof. Dr. Rajkumar Savai, Chair of Lung Microenvironmental Niche in Carcinogenesis, Institute for Lung Health (ILH), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany

"The superlimator enables the quick and easy, yet very reproducible coating of samples for MALDI Imaging, even for matrices notoriously difficult to sublimate. It is intuitive to operate, easy to clean and consumes very small amounts of matrix. It has become our go-to technology for sample preparation, especially for applications with high spatial resolution."

Dr. Jens Soltwisch, Group leader Biomedical Mass Spectrometry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany

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Frequently Asked Questions

Matrix sublimation is a solvent free technique for applying MALDI matrix to tissue sections or other flat samples. Under vacuum, a solid matrix is gently heated until it transitions directly from solid to vapor. This vapor then deposits as a thin, uniform crystal layer on the sample surface (which is cooled to make the process more efficient), preserving molecular localization and enabling high spatial resolution MALDI Imaging.

Sublimation time depends on the matrix chemistry, but common MALDI matrices such as DHB, DHAP, or CHCA typically sublimate in 5–10 minutes using superlimator™.

superlimator™ requires only a very small amount of matrix (2-5 mg per sample), reducing waste and lowering the cost per slide.

superlimator™ is a 2-in-1 device. Sublimation and Recrystallization workflows are possible with the same device.

Sublimation works very well for many commonly used MALDI matrices, and established protocols exist for matrices such as DHB, DHAP, and CHCA. However, sublimation is not compatible with all MALDI matrices. Whether a matrix can be sublimated depends on its boiling point, vapor pressure, thermal stability, and other physicochemical properties. Matrices that do not sublimate cleanly, or that degrade when heated, are not suitable for this method. For these cases, alternative matrix application approaches, such as spraying, may be required.

Sublimation provides solvent free coatings with very fine crystals, reducing analyte delocalization and improving spatial resolution, especially for high resolution MALDI Imaging applications (important for cell culture experiments).

Cleaning is typically quick, requires only basic laboratory tools (e.g., lint free wipes, mild solvents like isopropanol), and can be performed between runs without major downtime.

Most systems have a compact, benchtop design. For example, a footprint around 614 mm × 392 mm × 417 mm fits easily into standard laboratory setups with limited space.

Reproducibility is achieved through controlled temperature, vacuum, and cooling of the sample via automated, validated protocols. The system uses standardized workflows which show consistent matrix transfer efficiencies with low standard deviations across multiple units and sites.