Agilent acquires electrophoresis specialist Lab901

Agilent Technologies has announced the acquisition of Lab901, a specialist provider of electrophoresis equipment and consumables.

The Edinburgh-based company, which employs around 45 people, is being purchased in order to expand Agilent's range of electrophoresis solutions for the life science and molecular biology sectors.

Lab901 is responsible for developing the TapeStation benchtop electrophoresis device, the ScreenTape brand of plastic-based consumables and various associated reagents, which allow for the rapid analysis of DNA, RNA and protein samples.

The products will complement Agilent's existing offerings in this market, including the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer and Agilent G7100 Capillary Electrophoresis System.

Patrick Kaltenbach, vice-president of the firm's liquid phase separations unit, said: "Agilent can now address customer needs across the entire span of electrophoresis life science applications, from semi-automated to 96-well-plate compatible workflows."

This week, Agilent also announced that it has been ranked as the number one preferred partner for laboratory standards compliance in an independent survey conducted in the EU and US.