Singapore: Agilent Technologies and Temasek Polytechnic have announced a collaboration in product-safety testing and opened a new laboratory to help small and midsize enterprises maintain strict safety and quality standards.

The Temasek Polytechnic-Agilent Partner Lab brings together cutting-edge bio-analytical technologies from Agilent and resources from Temasek Polytechnic to help businesses, in particular those that develop, manufacture or distribute traditional Chinese medicine and food products. Chemists at this lab will be able to conduct tests to detect, screen, identify and quantify chemicals in ingredients and products at various stages of development and production -from product innovation to quality control, from trace substance screening and identification to product authentication.

"Agilent has a long history of developing analytical tools and methods used by governments, commercial enterprises and private labs around the globe for the detection, identification and confirmation of biological and chemical agents and toxic industrial compounds in various industries. Manufacturers and distributors of products used in traditional Chinese medicine, for example, need to ensure safety, quality and authenticity of their ingredients and must conform to increasingly stringent standards around the world and in Singapore," said Ms Tan Mei Mei, business director, South Asia- Pacific region, Chemical Analysis Group, Agilent.

"We are heartened by Temasek Polytechnic's commitment to invest resources in state-of-the-art instrumentation and talent to establish this new lab with Agilent. Together, we can help businesses in Singapore meet evolving regulatory and testing requirements and help tackle the shortage of specialized expertise," she said.

"Temasek Polytechnic has a strong track record in helping Singapore businesses, especially SMEs in the area of analytical science. Through our interactions with SMEs, we know that they want capabilities in high-value, low-volume testing services at an internationally established laboratory," said Dr Lee Chee Wee, director, School of Applied Science, Temasek Polytechnic. "At this Lab, Temasek Polytechnic is committed to adopting the latest technology in analytical science. We hope to leverage the strategic partnership with Agilent to further facilitate innovation for local enterprises. The ultimate goal is for SMEs to accelerate their growth and achieve their business objectives in a more cost-effective way," he added.

The new lab is part of the Agilent Partner Labs network in the company's South Asia-Pacific and Korea region. The Agilent Partner Labs program is an initiative designed to bring specialists from key laboratories around the world together with Agilent's leading-edge technologies in the chromatography, mass spectrometry and spectroscopy areas. Most importantly, the Partner Labs program is complementary to Agilent's applications services.