Nanosys Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif., and Bruker Daltonics Inc. of Billerica, Mass., have begun a collaboration to conduct research using the former’s matrix-free target plates and to develop assays and applications. Nanosys will supply the plates, known as capture-and-analyze Naldi chips, to Bruker. The latter will use the plates with its laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometers and will distribute the chips worldwide. The chips allow the analysis of low-mass molecules such as drug compounds, small peptides and pesticides — substances typically analyzed with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry — and can be used in pharmaceutical, molecular imaging and other research fields.