PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences Announces Launch of Nitro-Block II Enhancer Product Line.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 2002

PerkinElmer takes leading position as single-source provider for

non-radioactive imaging solutions

PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences, a leading provider of drug discovery, life science research, laboratory tools and genetic disease screening solutions, today announced the release of the Nitro-Block II(R) Luminescence Enhancer product line. The Nitro-Block II solution from Applied Biosystems will be incorporated into PerkinElmer's Western Lightning(TM) CDP-Star(R) and DNA Thunder(TM) CDP-Star chemiluminescence reagents resulting in a comprehensive line of reagents and complementary imaging instrumentation solutions. This release makes PerkinElmer a leading single-source provider of non-radioactive imaging solutions.

Nitro-Block II membrane enhancer increases signal intensity on nitrocellulose and PVDF membranes. Without enhancer, the chemiluminescent signal on nitrocellulose membranes is very weak, making detection either impossible or very time consuming. With enhancer, short exposures yielding high sensitivity detection can be performed on the same material.

The release of the Nitro-Block II enhanced product lines from PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences brings many advantages to the non-radioactive imaging consumer, including:

-- Choice of using nitrocellulose or PVDF membranes

-- Reduced detection time

-- Increased signal intensity

-- Decreased exposure times

-- Easy conversion from inferior reagents

-- Ready for use, no need for extra reagents

"Our Nitro-Block II offering expands our solutions for non-radioactive imaging, and is a testament to our commitment to evolve our offerings and technologies to meet our customers' specialized needs," said Peter Coggins, Ph.D., president of PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences.

Western Lightning and DNA Thunder are chemiluminescence reagents that can be used in detecting many different blot-based protein and nucleic acid studies, including western blotting assays, non-rad nucleic acid labeling and DNA slot blot applications. They comprise a family of kits with both conventional and high sensitivity strength reagents for Horse Radish Peroxide (HRP)-based assays, and for Alkaline Phosphatase (AP)-based detection assays. Both HRP and AP kits feature high sensitivity detection, up to four times higher than other brands available to researchers.

For more information, contact: PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences 549 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA; Telephone: [phone] (U.S. Only) or [phone]; Fax: [phone]. Website: www.perkinelmer.com/lifesciences.

PerkinElmer, Inc. is a global technology leader focused in the following businesses - Life and Analytical Sciences, Optoelectronics, and Fluid Sciences. Combining operational excellence and technology expertise with an intimate understanding of its customers' needs, PerkinElmer creates innovative solutions - backed by unparalleled service and support - for customers in health sciences, semiconductor, aerospace, and other markets whose applications demand absolute precision and speed. The company markets in more than 125 countries and is a component of the S&P 500 Index. Additional information is available through www.perkinelmer.com or 1-877-PKI-NYSE.