NEW YORK, Jan 30 – Motorola’s Clinical Micro Sensors unit and GeneScan of Freiburg, Germany have penned a technical collaboration agreement to develop Motorola’s eSensor DNA detection system as a tool to detect genetically modified crops, the companies said Tuesday.
Motorola’s eSensors serve as low-density electronic microarray devices, detecting DNA targets using electronic circuits made of organic molecules. ESensors have been shown to detect SNPs, as well as viral and bacterial DNA targets. Motorola hopes to incorporate this technology into a handheld DNA detection device that can analyze DNA on site.
GeneScan, meanwhile, has developed DNA probes that detect genetically modified crop varieties and will incorporate these probes in the sensors.
" Motorola's unique technology platform will help us to address the growing need for flexible DNA-based systems for the detection of genetically modified organisms," Frank-Roman Lauter, GeneScan's vice president of US operations, said in a statement. " The ability to offer a single test for several genetically engineered traits with the potential for 'on site' analyses using future generations of the technology will significantly enhance our ability to service our customers."
Motorola Clinical Microsensors unveiled its eSensor DNA detection system in late October and said it would be developing different commercial versions for DNA testing in healthcare, agriculture, food safety, animal health and breeding, and environmental monitoring.