REIMS technology, from MediMass, has shown the ability to bring ambient ionization sampling into real world applications such as food safety and microbiology.
It is an ionization technique that can be used as a source for direct analysis of samples by mass spectrometry.
The firm said the transient nature of the REIMS signals is ideally suited for its time-of-flight mass spectrometers.
The deal represents all of the assets of MediMass and includes patent applications, software, databases and REIMS expertise.
Waters' experience with REIMS technology stems from a three-year collaboration among Waters, MediMass and Imperial College London focused on advancing REIMS.
Rohit Khanna, vice-president, worldwide marketing and informatics, Waters Division, said while showing promise across many applications, the technology strengthens its position within Health Sciences.