安捷伦科技与UC Davis合作开展突破性的食品安全研究

此次合作旨在缩短沙门氏菌（Salmonella）等食源性细菌的鉴定时间，实现
食品安全领域的突破

2010 年 12 月 8 日，北京——安捷伦科技公司（纽约证交所：A）今日宣布，将与UC Davis（加州大学戴维斯分校）在食品安全领域展开合作。本次合作研究将致力于开发新的分析流程，将食源性致病菌的鉴定时间从几天缩短至几个小时。

安捷伦将和UC Davis共同开发 MassCode PCR 技术。该项技术结合了质量标记 PCR 引物和液质联用技术，前者用于扩增，后者用于快速鉴别沙门氏菌和其他食源性致病菌的血清型。

该技术将 PCR 的灵敏度和特异性优势、LC/MS 的自动化优势以及质谱的灵敏度优势融为一体。其中质量标记技术将有机小分子标记物与 PCR 引物相连，从而为每个目标基因提供两个特异性标识（如同给目标基因贴了双重条码）。目标基因成功且特异地得到扩增后，键合的质量标记会在 MS 分析中被检测到。由于每个目标基因拥有两个确认信息，因此出现假阳性的可能性大大降低。

加州大学动物健康和食品安全实验室系统教授 Hailu Kinde 博士说：“目前用于鉴别沙门氏菌类型的方法还是上世纪开发的。这类方法需要大量复杂的实验，往往既费时又费力，完成整个流程可能需要一个星期。在食品运到世界各地只需不到一天时间的今天，我们迫切需要更好的方法来快速鉴别污染源，避免污染源进入食品供应链。这个激动人心的新项目使我们朝着缩短检测时间的目标迈进了一大步，它将极大地提升食品安全性。”

这项技术将彻底变革食品安全的现状，它将原本需要数天的食源性疾病暴发源检测缩短至几个小时。快速获得检测结果就意味着能更有效地控制疫情。总体而言，这项技术还可扩展至特定细菌的靶向检测，避免细菌随食品进入人体。

安捷伦全球食品项目经理 Paul Zavitsanos 说道：“将 PCR 技术、基因组学和质量标记结合用于致病菌的检测和表征，整合了安捷伦的尖端仪器优势和 UC Davis的科学专长和人才优势。这个项目标志着安捷伦科技与 UC Davis在食品安全领域将开始长期合作，我们的目标是共同推动科学和技术的进步，造福社会。”

为了体现安捷伦对此次合作的大力支持，安捷伦将思想领袖奖颁给了该校兽医学院的 Hailu Kinde 教授，还包括总价值超过 150 万美元的的研究经费和仪器捐赠，以支持该校的食品安全研究项目。

安捷伦的“思想领袖计划”为权威思想领袖的研究提供科研经费、产品和专业技术方面的支持，这无疑将推动生命科学领域的长足进步。

关于加州大学戴维斯分校兽医学院

加州大学戴维斯分校的兽医学院在全州范围内实行教育、研究和服务计划，以改善加利福尼亚州及周边地区的动物健康、公共卫生和环境卫生。在其附属教学医院里，训练有素的医务人员每年治疗 32,000 例病患，同时还向学生传授基本兽医学技能，为全国规模最大的兽医住院医计划培训专家。

Agilent Technologies Collaborates with UC Davis on Breakthrough Food-Safety Research
 

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 8, 2010

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced it is collaborating with the University of California, Davis in the area of food safety. The research collaboration will focus on the development of a new process that can reduce the time required to identify food-borne pathogens from several days to only a few hours.

Agilent and UC Davis will develop MassCode PCR technology. This technology integrates mass-tagged PCR primers for amplification and Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometery for the rapid identification of Salmonella serovar subtypes as well as other food-borne pathogens.

The technology combines the sensitivity and specificity advantages of PCR, with the partial automation of LC/MS, and the sensitivity of detection of the mass spectrometer. The mass tags are small organic molecules coupled to the PCR primers, which provide two unique identifiers per target--like a dual barcode per target. These only appear in the MS analysis if the target was specifically and successfully amplified. By having two confirming signals per target, the likelihood of false positives is significantly decreased.

"The techniques currently used to identify specific types of Salmonella were developed in the previous century," said Dr. Hailu Kinde, professor at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System. "They require a number of complex laboratory procedures, which are often laborious and can take up to a week to complete. In this era when food can be distributed across the globe in less than a day, it is critical that we have better tools to quickly identify the source of contamination before it spreads into the food supply. This exciting new project is a giant step toward reducing the time it takes to get test results and will make our food safer."

The technology could revolutionize food safety by reducing the time it takes to identify the source of food-borne outbreaks from several days to only a few hours. Achieving rapid results enables more effective containment of outbreaks. On a global level, the technology will provide expanded testing to target specific bacteria and remove implicated food items intended for human consumption.

"Integrating PCR techniques and genomics with mass tagging for the detection and characterization of disease-causing bacteria will leverage Agilent's state-of-the-art equipment and UC Davis' scientific expertise and resources," said Paul Zavitsanos, Agilent's worldwide food program manager. "This process marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration between UC Davis and Agilent Technologies in the arena of food safety, with our shared goal of advancing science and technology to benefit society."

To underscore Agilent's support of the joint endeavor, Professor Hailu Kinde of the School of Veterinary Medicine received an Agilent Thought Leader Award, including unrestricted research funding and a donation of equipment with an aggregate value of more than $1.5 million in support of the school's food safety research programs.

Agilent's Thought Leader Program promotes fundamental advances in the life sciences by contributing financial support, products and/or expertise to the research of influential thought leaders.

About UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine provides statewide teaching, research and service programs benefiting animal health, public health and environmental health in California and beyond. At the teaching hospital, faculty and highly trained staff treat 32,000 patients each year while teaching essential veterinary skills to students and training specialists in the largest veterinary residency program in the nation.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in chemical analysis, life sciences, electronics and communications. The company's 18,500 employees serve customers in more than 100 countries. Agilent had net revenues of $5.4 billion in fiscal 2010. Information about Agilent is available at www.agilent.com.

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Contact:

Eric Endicott
+1 408 553 2005
eric_endicott@agilent.com