MILFORD, Mass., April 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Waters Corporation announced today that the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (U.S. DEA) purchased a Waters(R) ACQUITY(R) UltraPerformance Liquid Chromatograph for the purpose of training new forensic chemists at the Special Testing and Research Laboratory in Dulles, Va.
Forensic laboratories are an important resource in assisting local, state and federal law enforcement agencies in monitoring and combating illicit drug abuse and trafficking, including the diversion of legally-manufactured pharmaceuticals into illegal markets. For example, data collected by the DEA from forensic laboratories about the regional use of prescription pain medicines like oxycodone and hydrocodone for non-medical purposes informs drug policy and drug enforcement initiatives and helps solve crimes. Each year, several million seized drug items are analyzed by the nation’s network of government and private forensic laboratories.
Since 2004, the DEA has applied Waters ACQUITY UltraPerformance LC(R) (UPLC(R)) technology for drug profiling and has investigated this technology for drug screening analyses.
For drug profiling applications, where experts analyze trace impurities such as precursor chemicals in synthetic drugs or the constituents of natural products such as those derived from opium, a combination of UPLC and mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) has been shown to offer 2X better resolving power than HPLC and greater specificity and sensitivity than HPLC paired with photodiode array detection. These trace impurities can be important in matching a seized drug to a particular individual and potentially linking it to other cases where a similar impurity profile has been generated.
The DEA’s most recent acquisition of an ACQUITY UPLC System complements its growing number of Waters ACQUITY UPLC and UPLC/MS/MS analytical systems deployed at DEA laboratories around the country.
For more information on Waters products for UPLC, visit www.waters.com/uplc.
About Waters Corporation (www.waters.com)
For 50 years, Waters Corporation creates business advantages for laboratory-dependent organizations by delivering practical and sustainable innovation to enable significant advancements in such areas as healthcare delivery, environmental management, food safety, and water quality worldwide.
Pioneering a connected portfolio of separations science, laboratory information management, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis, Waters technology breakthroughs and laboratory solutions provide an enduring platform for customer success.
With revenue of $1.58 billion in 2008 and 5,000 employees, Waters is driving scientific discovery and operational excellence for customers worldwide.
Waters, ACQUITY, UPLC, UltraPerformance LC, and ACQUITY UPLC are trademarks of Waters Corporation.
CONTACT: Brian J. Murphy, Public Relations Manager of Waters Corporation,
+1-508-482-2614, brian_j_murphy@waters.com
Web site: http://www.waters.com/
