As mass spectroscopy becomes ever more important to drug discovery and development and pharmaceutical quality assurance, companies making spectrometers are looking to new materials to make their devices more accurate and maintenance free. One class of materials they are turning to is ceramics.

For example, collar supports and spacers used to secure the rods and beam-focusing lenses are often now made of 99.5% pure aluminum oxide, a product supplied by Morgan Technical Ceramics, Fairfield, NJ (morgantechnicalceramics.com). Ceramics are dimensionally stable despite changes in temperature, so these supports and fasteners keep the spectrometer's working hardware in the right position. The dimension stability also means the spectrometers do not have to be racalibrated as often.

Ceramics are also well-suited for the high-vacuum environment found in mass analyzers. They eliminate the risk of outgassing, which can contaminate the sample and damage the equipment. And ceramics' inherently low dielectric constants provide electrical insulation that keeps out electrical interference, which can cause equipment readings to drift. Ceramic parts can also be given smooth finishes which thwart voltage arcs in spectrometers.