Mosaic Technologies Enters into Distribution Agreements for Enabling Technology

Mosaic Technologies Inc. announced this week that it has entered into distribution agreements with two commercial oligonucleotide manufacturers: Operon Technologies Inc. of Alameda, Calif., and Research Genetics Inc. of Huntsville, Ala. Both manufacturers will distribute synthetic oligonucleotide containing Mosaic's first commercial product: the proprietary Acrydite phosphoramidite molecule. The companies will market and distribute the Acrydite-containing oligonucleotides to some 70,000 "bench scientists" across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Acrydite was developed by Mosaic Technologies for DNA immobilization and hybridization. Its features allow researchers a single-step DNA-attachment capability and a high-speed DNA-hybridization process. The current DNA attachment process requires organic chemistry steps, and the hybridization process may require several hours to two days to perform. Acrydite will allow bench scientists to attach DNA to any surface in seconds using familiar laboratory methods; the entire hybridization process would take less than 30 minutes.

"With Acrydite-based oligonucleotides, researchers now will be able to develop simple, rapid, and highly specific nucleic acid assays," said Christopher P. Adams, chairman, chief executive officer and founder of Mosaic Technologies. "We are confident that the Acrydite chemistry will greatly simplify and improve assay specificity, as well as facilitate new-assay development. Acrydite, certainly, represents a nucleic acid-screening breakthrough. We also believe that this unique attachment chemistry will yield new applications in the future."

Oligonucleotides—often called "oligos"—are short pieces of DNA that are commonly synthesized and designed to be complementary to—and thus bind (or, hybridize) to specific nucleic acid molecules. By choosing relevant oligonucleotide sequences, researchers can detect the presence of specific gene sequences in clinical and laboratory specimens. The Acrydite chemistry significantly speeds nucleic acid development and allows the use of novel assay configurations.