Agilent Technologies Instruments Selected by South African Doping Control Laboratory for 2010 World Cup

The South African Doping Control Laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art Agilent gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS) instruments to confirm the chemical identity of suspected banned substances found in testing samples. Agilent is providing five GC/MSD systems and an Agilent 7000 Series Triple Quadrupole GC/MS system. Agilent technicians will provide technical support throughout the event.

The use of the 7000 Series Triple Quadrupole GC/MS system from Agilent has raised the standard of doping testing to a higher level, said Dr. Pieter J. van der Merwe, Director, South African Doping Control Laboratory. This instrument is significantly increasing the sensitivity and specificity of detection.

Agilent is proud of our leadership role in anti-doping testing instruments, which dates back to the 1970s, said Mike McMullen, president of Agilent's Chemical Analysis Group. We are honored that the South African Doping Control Laboratory selected Agilent to help ensure a level playing field and fair competition at the 2010 World Cup.

Agilent is the leading provider of GC/MS instrumentation and a leader in the complementary area of liquid chromatography with MS (LC/MS). A gas or liquid chromatographic system is used to separate and detect the components in complex samples such as biological fluids. The high sensitivity and specificity of the mass spectrometer is especially valuable for doping analysis since there is no room for error in the analyses. As each compound is detected, the mass spectrometer captures a unique chemical fingerprint which can be compared to a reference database to provide unambiguous confirmation of the compound.

For more than 35 years, Agilent has developed a strong reputation in analytical instruments and methods for drug testing in sports. In 1972, Agilent supplied analytical instrumentation to the lab serving the first Olympic Games in which testing was required. Since then, Agilent technology has played a role with drug-testing labs serving each of the Olympic Games as well as major sporting events such as the World Cup and the Tour de France.