China's biochemical reagent production has a significant gap with foreign countries

Biochemical reagents are an emerging category in the chemical industry and an important tool for research biology. It is closely related to the basic research and practical application of biological sciences, especially the advancement of biochemistry, molecular biology, molecular genetics, and cell science. The development and production of biochemical reagents have been greatly promoted under the impetus of this situation. In foreign countries, the production of biochemical reagents has become a specialized industry, no longer attached to the general chemical reagent factory, the production units are increasing year by year, the categories and varieties of products are also increasing, and the quality of products is continuously improved, and the service methods are continuously improved. There has also been a new development in the relationship between production and research.

Production enterprise type of Biochemical reagent

1. Some well-known chemical reagent manufacturers pay attention to the production of biochemical reagents when developing new varieties. For example, E.Merck of West Germany produced 500 biochemical reagents in 1980, which accounted for a small proportion. Swiss lFuka also produces biochemical reagents produced by organic synthesis while producing chemical reagents. British BDH ChemicalstLd produces two major categories of chemical reagents and biochemical reagents. From the perspective of varieties, the latter accounts for about 30%.

2. Some countries with good biochemical research work have established professional biochemical reagent production units, and the products they produce involve many fields of biology. For example, Sigma sells more than 6,000 kinds of biochemical reagents. West Germany Serva produces more than 450 kinds of biochemical reagents. In addition, there are also units that produce fewer varieties, such as Boehringer Mannheim GmbH, which produces 80 products. For Sigma, there are more than 50 varieties of enzymes in different types and sizes of biochemical reagents, and Boehringer and Koeh-Light also produce nearly 200 varieties.

3. In order to meet the needs of some technologies (such as nucleic acid recombination technology in molecular genetics, radioimmunoassay technology in immunology, etc.) formed with the development of biological sciences, specialized biochemical reagent manufacturers have emerged. For example, BethesdaResearehLabnIc specializes in the production of more than 50 biochemical reagents related to nucleic acid recombination technology in molecular genetics; Worthington (USA) specializes in the production of enzymes and 371 related preparations; Canada cli-nicalAssaysDivisionofTravenolLab specializes in the production of 45 kinds of radioimmunoassay kits; Pharmacia, Sweden specializes in the production of a wide range of separation materials.

4. Some units that did not produce biochemical reagents, such as LKB in Sweden, were originally a company that manufactures biochemical instruments. Now they also produce biochemical reagents such as carrier ampholytes, biochemical reagents such as uhrogel, which are often associated with new technologies. The development of the two is closely related, such as the cross-border Bio-RadLab, in addition to producing a variety of Affi-Gel and other separation materials, but also the production of equipment for column chromatography.

Development of biochemical reagents at home and abroad

In recent years, the development of biochemical reagents has been very rapid. In foreign countries, the production of biochemical reagents has become a specialized industry. It is no longer attached to the general chemical reagent factory. The production units are increasing year by year, and the categories and varieties of products are also increasing. For example, West Germany E.Merck produces more than 50 kinds of biochemical reagents. The US iSgam company produces more than 600 biochemical reagents, which are divided into 23 categories, including 80 amino acids and their derivatives, 120 nucleotides and bases. There are 60 kinds of sugars, about 600 kinds of enzymes, hundreds of kinds of proteins and their derivatives, and about 30 kinds of skin types and their derivatives. West Germany's Serva produces more than 450 biochemical reagents. The experimental department of MilotnROy Company of the United States specializes in the production of 1500 kinds of biochemical reagents and standard reagents for gas chromatography and thin layer chromatography. The United States Collaboartivee RsearehIne mainly produces about 500 kinds of nucleic acid compounds. The US Bethesdae Rseareh Laboratories, Ine specializes in the production of nucleic acid recombination in molecular genetics. There are about 80 kinds of biochemical reagents related to technology. The Wortihng-otn company in the United States specializes in the production of enzymes and 371 related preparations. The Swedish company Phamracia specializes in producing various series of separation materials. Foreign biochemical reagents not only increase the variety and variety, but also the internal and packaging quality of monthly products are constantly improving, the way of service is also constantly improving, and the relationship between production and scientific research has also developed.

The development and production status of biochemical reagents in China is significantly different from that in foreign countries. According to preliminary statistics of the national chemical reagent product catalogue, there are only 30 kinds of biochemical reagents as commodities, which only account for 5% of existing foreign varieties. As one of the main production units of domestic biochemical reagents, Dongfeng Biochemical Reagent Factory of Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences has accumulated more than 60 products since its establishment in 1958. Among them, there are only 10 kinds of products that can provide goods every year. According to statistics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences system requires about 150 kinds of biochemical reagents in 1979. If we consider the needs of institutions of higher learning and agriculture, industry, and medicine in the country, we will not be able to meet the needs in terms of quantity and quality. In this way, the country has to spend a lot of foreign exchange every year to import biochemical reagents from abroad.

Edited by Suzhou Yacoo Science Co., Ltd.