CHANTILLY, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dynex Technologies announced today it has finalized a supply agreement with ZEUS Scientific (Branchburg, NJ), allowing ZEUS to utilize the proprietary Dynex SmartKit™ packaging in the ZEUS ELISA product line, including more than 50 autoimmune and infectious disease test systems. The agreement is the first announced by Dynex with an ELISA reagent manufacturer that allows SmartKits to be used in conjunction with the new Dynex Agility™ microplate automation system.
SmartKit ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) kit packaging is a simple, direct-load solution to front-end preparation that reduces technician time and the potential for costly data entry errors, while improving ease-of-use and enhancing the product offerings of ELISA reagent kit manufacturers. SmartKit packaging includes four main components: the consumable bottles of any given reagents kit, a 2D barcode with lot-specific assay information, a carrier for holding reagent bottles, and a cap holder for reagent bottle caps. Once caps are removed and stored in the cap holder, the SmartKit is placed directly into the Agility system for testing. Agility is a new fully automated microplate testing system that will be released by Dynex in the third quarter of 2012. The Agility system utilizes the proven versatility of ELISA’s core technology in a powerful, fully automated platform, for true ELISA optimization. State-of-the-art robotic processing delivers unparalleled precision while eliminating nearly all manual steps.
Dynex developed SmartKit inserts for exclusive use with its Agility system and offers SmartKit Gold, Silver, and Bronze formats to provide a choice of options and value. Duane M. Steele, Dynex’s vice president of sales and marketing, said, “ZEUS has elected to use the SmartKit Gold format, which provides the highest level of quality assurance and ease-of-use in the ELISA market. ZEUS customers that use these SmartKits in their laboratories will realize higher throughput, efficiency, and reliability and will experience a new level of value and convenience.”
ZEUS ELISA products that utilize the SmartKit Gold format will be delivered to customers as pre-packaged reagent kits that contain all consumables required to perform ELISA tests. This novel packaging allows the ZEUS ELISA kits to be loaded directly on the Agility instrument in one easy step. All reagents are preloaded in the carrier, onto which a two-dimensional barcode is affixed, allowing the Agility instrument to instantly identify the kit, assay protocol and all lot-specific information, eliminating the need to enter this information manually. Agility allows up to 16 SmartKits to be stored on the instrument and up to 12 different full-plate assays to be processed in a single run. Gold format SmartKits offer excellent value for laboratories by cutting manual assay processing steps and substantially reducing technician time.
“Eliminating most of the manual labor for assay set ups, combined with Agility’s high-throughput capability, significantly reduces per-test cost and enables laboratories to obtain results faster than possible with manual assay procedures and most automated ELISA systems,” said Steele. “The Agility system enables ELISA reagent companies to offer a new level of reagent–instrument integration and automation.”
Chris Howard, ZEUS Scientific Vice President of Sales and Marketing, said, “We are pleased to be the first ELISA manufacturer to partner with Dynex and offer ZEUS ELISA tests in the Dynex SmartKit format. This new concept will enable our global customers to run more diagnostic tests in less time. ZEUS ELISA kits can continue to be run manually or used with other open automation platforms. I believe laboratories will appreciate the value and savings when ZEUS ELISA kits are automated on the Agility system in the SmartKit Gold format.”
ZEUS Scientific will begin offering ZEUS ELISA test in Dynex SmartKit format when the Agility system is introduced in the third quarter of this year.
About Dynex Agility
The Dynex Agility system is redefining ELISA microplate automation. Agility is an open ELISA processing system that can accommodate kits from most ELISA kit manufacturers, but the greatest level of convenience is achieved when the Dynex SmartKit format is utilized. Agility’s intuitive design requires minimal operator training and significantly lowers the potential for errors. Navigation on the built-in touch screen is simple and allows comprehensive monitoring of consumables. Attractive graphics give a full overview of all system operations – from the number of tests scheduled to remaining consumable levels. More information on the Agility system can be found at www.dynex-agility.com.
About Dynex Technologies (www.dynextechnologies.com): Dynex pioneered microplate technology more than 40 years ago, and has since delivered a series of cutting edge, best-of-class processing systems, including the 4-plate DSX® and 2-plate DS2® systems. Dynex designs each of its products to meet the rigorous demands of scientists in clinical, biomedical, and pharmaceutical development applications. Dynex is based in Chantilly, Virginia, has subsidiaries in Germany and the UK, and markets its products worldwide.
About ZEUS Scientific (http://www.zeusscientific.com): ZEUS Scientific has over 35 years of experience in developing, manufacturing and marketing in vitro diagnostic laboratory tests. No other company offers the breadth and depth of products across both autoimmune disease and infectious serology testing, across three methodologies: IFA, ELISA and multiplex (AtheNA Multi-Lyte®). ZEUS Scientific is based in Branchburg, New Jersey and markets test systems around the globe through an extensive distribution network. ZEUS Scientific complies with the international standard ISO 13485 (2003), Health Canada Medical Device Regulations (SOR/98-282, May 7 1998), the FDA Quality System Regulations (FDA Quality System Regulation, 1996: 21 CFR § 820), and the IVD 98/79/EEC.