Syngene - First CCD 2D Gel Imaging System Installed at Singapore’s New SMART Centre
Will Help Accelerate Pace of Infectious Disease Research in South East Asia

May 7th 2008 Cambridge, UK: Syngene, a world-leading manufacturer of image analysis solutions, is proud to announce its first Dyversity 6 innovative 2D gel imaging system has been installed at the prestigious, new, Singapore Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centre, by Syngene’s exclusive distributor, Insta BioAnalytik Pte Ltd.

The Dyversity 6 at the SMART Centre features a 16-bit, 6 mega pixel CCD based camera and can generate 2D protein gel images up to ten times faster than a conventional laser-based scanner. The system will be used initially by scientists in the SMART Centre’s Infectious Diseases’ interdisciplinary research group to rapidly automate 1D and 2D gel imaging in vital research programmes focusing on respiratory syncytial virus, influenza, tuberculosis and malaria.

Researchers in the SMART Centre chose the Dyversity 6 after reviewing several image analysers because it can be fitted with a wide range of filters, UV and visible lighting options, making it versatile enough to image gels stained with Coomassie Blue, silver stain, SYPRO® Ruby, Pro-Q® Diamond, Deep Purple™ and CY™ dyes. They also liked the Dyversity software's user-friendliness and most of all, the system’s ability to rapidly separate close protein spot images from densely-protein spotted 2D gels.

Karen Chan, Product Specialist at Insta Bioanalytik Pte Ltd, said: “We are proud to have a Dyversity 6 in the SMART Centre as the MIT is well-known for advancing science and technology, and it's a great opportunity for us to work with them.”

Laura Sullivan, Syngene’s Divisional Manager added: “Many prestigious institutes such as Imperial College are enjoying the benefits of using CCD based technology for 2D gel imaging. We are delighted scientists at the SMART Centre are joining them by installing our innovative Dyversity 6 image analyser and are keen to see how the system contributes to speeding up their critical research on infectious diseases.”

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For Further Information Contact:
Jayne Arthur, Syngene, Beacon House, Nuffield Road, Cambridge, CB4 1TF, UK.
Tel: +44(0) 1223-727123 Fax +44 (0) 1223-727101
Email: jayne.arthur@syngene.com  Web: www.syngene.com 

Andrew Lee, Insta BioAnalytik Pte Ltd, 8 Boon Lay Way, #03-10, Tradehub 21,
Singapore 609964.
Tel: +65 6515 0110 Fax: +65 6515 0220
Email: andrew@instabioanalytik.com  Web: www.instabioanalytik.com

Editor Contact:
Dr Sue Pearson, PO Box 170, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG5 3GD, UK.
Tel/Fax +44 (0) 1462-635327 Email: sue6.pearson@ntlworld.com

Note to Editors

About Syngene

Syngene is a world-leading supplier of integrated imaging solutions for analysis and documentation of gel-based information. Syngene’s systems are used by more than 10,000 research organizations organisations and over 50,000 individual scientists world-wide and include many of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies and major research institutes.

Syngene, founded in 1997 is a division of the Cambridge based Synoptics Group. The Group’s other divisions, Syncroscopy and Synbiosis, specialise in digital imaging solutions for microscopy and microbial applications respectively. Synoptics currently employs 50 people in its UK and subsidiary operation in Frederick, USA.

About the SMART Centre

The Singapore Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Alliance for Research and Technology Centre (SMART) Centre officially opened in January 2008. The Centre is the MIT’s largest international research endeavour and the first research centre of its kind located outside Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. It offers laboratories and computational facilities for research in several areas, including biomedical science, water resources and the environment.

SMART is establishing five interdisciplinary research groups (IRGs). The first two IRGs, Infectious Diseases and a Centre for Environmental Sensing, are already operating and a third is scheduled to become operational by the end of 2008.