Despite their inherent hydrophobicity, the materials from which products such as pipettes, petri dishes and microplates are manufactured do retain residual amounts of liquid – resulting in inaccurate test results and the waste of costly reagents. Currently, some manufacturers offer low-retention products which are achieved either by polishing the moulds to ensure minimal surface tension, introducing additives into the melt polymer before moulding or using a post-manufacture dip. While these approaches vary in effectiveness, ease of use and consistency, ion-mask™ treated consumables significantly outperform them all.