Mass spectrometry goes mainstream.

At the less expensive end of the biotechnology market is ion-trap mass spectrometer, which is reasonably sensitive and has a reputation for being rugged, reliable and easy to use. But conventional three-dimensional ion traps have limited trap capacity, although newer instruments offer improvements on this front. The 1100 Series LC-MSD Trap XCT non-linear ion trap from Agilent in Palo Alto, California, for example, has a trap capacity four to eight times greater than its predecessor, which the company says will give a tenfold increase in sensitivity. Prices start at about US$200,000. The linear or two-dimensional ion-trap machines, such as the LTQ LC-MS/MS from Thermo Finnigan in San Jose, California, are also configured to offer greater ion storage capacity. At the top end of the market is hybrid Fourier transform MS (FTMS) instruments developed by Bruker Daltonics Inc. in Billerica, Massachusetts and biotechnology company Thermo Finnigan.