Scientific Collaboration Seeks To Develop New Methods To Better Identify Contaminants In Drinking Water

Main Category: Water - Air Quality / Agriculture
Article Date: 06 Jun 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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A team of scientists representing academia and industry are collaborating to improve the identification of contaminants in drinking water. Scientists at Missouri University of Science and Technology are working with Applied Biosystems (NYSE:ABI), an Applera Corporation business, and its joint-venture partner, MDS Analytical Technologies, a business unit of MDS Inc. (NYSE:MDZ) (TSX:MDS), to develop and validate new methods through which municipalities and treatment centers can detect a wider range of harmful chemicals.

This project is responding to the increasing prevalence of contaminated drinking water. For instance, pharmaceutical residues were found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, according to a five-month investigation conducted by the Associated Press1. Pharmaceutical and personal care products have also been detected in reservoirs, lakes and rivers throughout Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. These findings raise serious concerns about the potential long-term health risks.

Efforts to monitor the contaminants are underway in many municipalities and water treatment centers; however, the lack of analysis and validated methods to identify hard-to-detect contaminants, such as disinfectant byproducts, cyanobacterial toxins and degraded pesticides, is further hampering testing. The scientists conducting this project will analyze reservoir water with mass spectrometry, which is an advanced scientific technique used to analyze compounds based on their molecular composition. They will utilize Applied Biosystems/MDS Analytical Technologies' mass spectrometry systems to develop new software-based methods that are expected to expand the range of contaminants that can be screened in repeatable, systematic ways.

The analysis and method development will take place on the campus of Missouri S&T. The university scientists will also validate the methods to save time and expense for other water testing laboratories, which will be able to access these methods through a pre-configured software application that will be marketed by Applied Biosystems/MDS Analytical Technologies. These methods will be optimized for use on Applied Biosystems/MDS Analytical Technologies' mass spectrometry instrument systems.

Craig Adams, Ph.D., director of the Environmental Research Center, and Yinfa Ma, Ph.D., professor of chemistry, at the university are leading the collaborative project with the joint venture. "Missouri S&T welcomes the opportunity to work with Applied Biosystems/MDS Analytical Technologies to develop the critical methods needed for water contaminant testing," said Dr. Adams.

For this project, the scientific team is employing a complete mass spectrometry workflow from Applied Biosystems/MDS Analytical Technologies that incorporates the 4000 QTRAP® system, which is a specialized mass spectrometer that integrates quantitative and qualitative analysis by combining triple quadrupole and linear ion trap capabilities. It is the only system of its kind that provides information to identify and quantify contaminants at trace levels. The software that will host the new methods is Cliquid® software, which is an application that simplifies the operation of LC/MS/MS (tandem liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry), an analytical technique that combines physical separation with mass-based detection. The new methods will build on the integrated functionality of Cliquid software by providing guidelines on the instrument parameters to identify and quantify contaminants.

"Authorities responsible for the water we drink generally recognize the need to better identify contaminants, but they are running up against limitations, such as which compounds to test for, and what technology and methods to use," said Andre Schreiber, Ph.D., the Applied Biosystems project leader. "This project is expected to provide the tools and protocols that will create a more efficient and thorough process."

The Applied Biosystems/MDS Analytical Technologies joint venture has a more than 20-year history of innovation and is a market leader in mass spectrometry with more than 12,000 systems installed in laboratories worldwide. It is focused on providing the required combination of platforms, software and workflows to help scientists advance their scientific-based testing. These workflows are enabled by simplified software interfaces that provide quicker access to more accurate results.

"Innovation in contaminant testing is driving greater visibility into the true extent of tainted drinking water," said Andy Boorn, president of MDS Analytical Technologies. "Applied Biosystems/MDS Analytical Technologies enables its customers around the world to advance their science in this field by providing powerful tools for accurate detection of toxins that will enable faster clean-up efforts."

For more information about Applied Biosystems/MDS Analytical Technologies' water contaminant testing solutions, visit http://www.appliedbiosystems.com.

About Applera Corporation and Applied Biosystems

Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. Applied Biosystems serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools to analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to make scientific discoveries and develop new pharmaceuticals. Applied Biosystems' products also serve the needs of some markets outside of life science research, which we refer to as "applied markets," such as the fields of: human identity testing (forensic and paternity testing); biosecurity, which refers to products needed in response to the threat of biological terrorism and other malicious, accidental, and natural biological dangers; and quality and safety testing, such as testing required for food and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Applied Biosystems is headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of approximately $2.1 billion during fiscal 2007. The Celera Group is a diagnostics business delivering personalized disease management through a combination of products and services incorporating proprietary discoveries. Berkeley HeartLab, a subsidiary of Celera, offers services to predict cardiovascular disease risk and optimize patient management. Celera also commercializes a wide range of molecular diagnostic products through its strategic alliance with Abbott and has licensed other relevant diagnostic technologies developed to provide personalized disease management in cancer and liver diseases. Information about Applera Corporation, including reports and other information filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at http://www.applera.com, or by telephoning 800.762.6923. Information about Applied Biosystems is available at http://www.appliedbiosystems.com. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Applera does not undertake any duty to update this information unless required by law.

About MDS Analytical Technologies

MDS Analytical Technologies is a newly established MDS Inc. business unit and is a world-class organization comprised of two main lines of business. The Sciex product portfolio offers proven market leadership in mass spectrometry through its joint ventures with two of the world's leading analytical instrumentation and life sciences companies, Applied Biosystems, a business of Applera Corporation, and PerkinElmer Inc. Molecular Devices' product portfolio is the gold standard in high-performance bioanalytical measurement systems that accelerate and improve drug discovery and other life sciences research. Find out more at http://www.moleculardevices.com or http://www.mdssciex.com.

Footnote 1

Applied Biosystems Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking. These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "should," "expect," and "planned," among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Applera Corporation's current expectations. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for such forward-looking statements. In order to comply with the terms of the safe harbor, Applera Corporation notes that a variety of factors could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include but are not limited to: (1) rapidly changing technology and dependence on the development and customer acceptance of new products; (2) sales dependent on customers' spending policies; and (3) other factors that might be described from time to time in Applera Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and Applera does not undertake any duty to update this information, including any forward-looking statements, unless required by law.

© 2008 Applera Corporation and MDS Inc. Joint Owners. All rights reserved. For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. Applera, Applied Biosystems, and AB (Design) are registered trademarks of Applera Corporation or its subsidiaries in the US and/or certain other countries. QTRAP and Cliquid are registered trademarks of Applied Biosystems/MDS Analytical Technologies Instruments, a joint venture between Applera Corporation and MDS Inc.

Applied Biosystems

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