The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) announced that Stratagene has acquired an exclusive license to a novel orange fluorescent protein from CUHK. Based in US, Stratagene has been known for novel, reliable and time-saving products in fields spanning molecular biology, genomics, proteomics, drug discovery and toxicology. Stratagene will develop the licensed technology for potential future commercial applications. CUHK is a research-intensive university with an extensive research program in various fields, including biotechnology.

　　"We are very excited to have obtained a license on this technology from The Chinese University of Hong Kong," said Dr. Nicolas H. Roelofs, senior vice president of marketing and Asian sales for Stratagene. "In the future, we look forward to collaborating with the CUHK and other academic institutions in Hong Kong in the field of biotechnology."

　　Professor Kenneth Young, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, said "CUHK is pleased to join Stratagene in this international collaboration of transfer of technology. It is a fine example to show that Hong Kong has become a knowledge-driven and technology-intensive economy. This is very much in line with the vision of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region."

　　Professor David Wan of the Department of Biochemistry and his post-graduate student Denis Ip discovered the novel orange fluorescent protein in tube anemone. It is the first native orange fluorescent protein ever cloned, and has an emission maximum lined at the orange color region of the visible light spectrum. The protein addresses the research need for a red-shifted fluorescent protein and will be an extremely useful tool for tracking and quantifying biological entities in the fields of biochemistry, biotechnology, molecular biology, cell biology and medical diagnosis complementing fluorescent proteins from other sources currently employed.

　　Professor Wan said "It is gratifying to know that our discovery will be made widely available through Stratagene's range of fluorescent protein products. I look forward to working with the company on the further development of this technology."

　　With this license, Stratagene is extending its line of fluorescent proteins, which currently features VitalityR hrGFP Mammalian Expression Vectors.

Fluorescent proteins in a spectrum from red to green were successfully produced in the laboratory at CUHK.

Professor David Wan (right) of the Department of Biochemistry and his post-graduate student, Denis Ip cloned the first native orange fluorescent protein from tube anemone.