Step 1: Load the crushed corn into a centrifuge tube
Step 2: Add extract and mix gently
Step 3: Aspirate the sample and drop into the test card
Drip - the results are in!
This is not in a laboratory, but on the spot at a grain buying site in Henan Province.
"In the past, to detect aflatoxin, you had to send the sample to the field laboratory, and wait for several days to come and go. Now? I stand next to the grain pile, do it yourself, a few minutes to see the difference. Acquisition of grain there is no problem, the heart immediately have a bottom." A person in charge of the scene tone of voice through the solid.
The driving force behind this seemingly simple but accurate and efficient detection method is the new district from theNanjing Microtest Biotechnology Co.(hereinafter referred to as "Nanjing Micro-measurement"). Ten years of grinding a sword, from a start-up enterprise to the domestic toxin testing field leader, Nanjing micro-measurement with technology to the laboratory "moved" to the field, warehouse and production line. Standing at the new starting point of the 10th anniversary, it is not satisfied - more new products are on the way, and a new journey has just begun.
01 A "white card".
In the field of rapid food testing, especially the detection of contaminants in grain, oil and feed, there are two main technical routes for a long time:enzyme-linked immunoassaytogether withcolloidal gold methodThe
The former is good at quantification, and can accurately measure "how much poison is there"; the latter is better at simplicity, which is ready to use and requires no professional background. However, in the context of modern agriculture and the food industry's increasingly urgent need for high throughput, high sensitivity and on-site detection, theThe market is crying out for a "both and" solutionThe
The turnaround happened in 2015.
It was the second year of NJM's existence, and a program called "Time-resolved fluorescence quantitative immunochromatography." The all-in-one testing platform was born in this company's laboratory.
"This technology of ours.Precise dosing and easy handling at the same time, it is easy to get started without a professional inspector." Xiao Liwen, general manager and chairman of the company, introduced.
In the company's experimental workshop, a pure white rectangular test card is being assembled and molded on the assembly line, ready to be sent to the country. This is one of the core products based on this technology - aflatoxin time-resolved fluorescence quantitative test card. The card has a minimalist design, including the spiking area and the display area, which allows you to quickly read the results by simply dropping in the sample.
"It is well characterized:Fast, accurate, simple, and quantifiable.." Shoreman emphasized.
At present, Nanjing Microtest has successfully developedA number of mycotoxin rapid test products covering the fields of grain, oil, feed, dairy, Chinese herbal medicine, etc.It is a one-card test for common toxins such as aflatoxin, vomitoxin, zearalenone and ochratoxin.
With this "hard core" technology, Nanjing MicroMeasurement has rapidly gained recognition in the industry, and has reached a stable cooperation with a number of large grain, oil, food and feed enterprises, such as CPS, COFCO, Yihaijiali, Luhua, Makuhari, and Zhengda. Last year, the company's annualSales of nearly one hundred million dollarsIt is a sign that its technology and products have been fully validated by the market.
02 Three Ten-Year Plans
The core of the enterprise is people, "a small card, a year of sales of one hundred million" in addition to the good results, about the team's story, more Xiao Liwen Le Road.
In 2008, Xiao Liwen, who studied under Prof. Sun Xiulan, a well-known expert in the field of domestic food safety, successfully completed his master's research project in the School of Food of Jiangnan University. After graduation, he joined a fast food safety testing company in Shanghai and started to create a research and development team and invested in dairy fast testing technology.
Based on a solid theoretical foundation, coupled with a wealth of experience accumulated in the real world, in 2014, Xiao Liwen started his own entrepreneurial journey.
"In the past, we only need to consider whether the technology is good or not, and whether the product is feasible or not, but after starting the business, there are more things all of a sudden, not only do we need to pay attention to the cost control and study the development of the team, but we also need to run for the customers and expand the market by ourselves." Recalling the difficulties at the beginning of the business, Xiao Liwen was deeply impressed.
I remember in 2016, the company has just launched the rapid test card products, is fully expanding the large group of customers. A large flour group with a branch mill in Suqian, because the wheat was seriously contaminated by vomitoxin and needed to increase the incoming testing of raw materials, so they ordered vomitoxin quantitative rapid detection products from Nanjing Microtest.
"That single order of ten boxes totaled less than $10,000, but it meant a lot to us."When the product was packed, Xiao Liwen drove it to Suqian overnight.handed over to the customer. "We are confident in our technology, and as long as we can get our customers to use it, we believe it will be recognized." Xiao Liwen said.
Later, this customer really became the company's "repeat business", the expansion of large groups of customers, but also more and more smoothly. So far, the company's development, on track, the team gradually expanded to 130 people, orders are also a batch after a batch.
From three people at the beginning of the venture to today's scale of more than one hundred and thirty people, the development of Nanjing Microtest is like a speeding train, fast forward. At present, the company not only has rapid test cards, card reading equipment and software systems and other products, but also at the end of last year launched theFully automated testing instrumentsThe company's products are designed to further free up manual labor and improve detection efficiency.
But the determination to develop goes beyond that. In Shoreline's plans, theThere are three Ten-Year Plans.The first one has already been accomplished, i.e., to become the head company in the domestic toxin rapid detection field within ten years.
The second decade is to further expand the scope of business, and strive to become the domestic food safety field "leader"; the third decade, but also continue to enlarge the development of vision, among the top three in the field of global food safety.
Today, a new decade is setting sail under the Dragon King Mountain.
