Leading life science and technology company, Sigma-Aldrich Corporation has signed an agreement with Public Health England (PHE) to manufacture and supply bacterial and fungal NCTC/NCPF Certified Reference Materials (CRM) in Lenticule disc format worldwide for use as controls in food, water, environmental and clinical testing microbiology laboratories.

"Sigma-Aldrich is excited to offer the global scientific community access to the Lenticule disc portfolio," said Trevor Jones, vice president for the Sigma-Aldrich Analytical Business. "The addition of these certified reference materials supports our aim to offer a broad portfolio of products that accelerate customers' confidence in the quality and accuracy of analytical data."

Each CRM Lenticule disc consists of a stipulated level of a pure culture of viable bacteria or fungi in a control-dried water-soluble matrix. The bacterial and fungal strains are prepared directly from strains selected from PHE's National Collection of Type Cultures (NCTC) and National Collection of Pathogenic Fungi (NCPF).

"Our agreement with Sigma-Aldrich will enable more scientists worldwide to easily access the NCTC/NCPF CRMs," said Julie Russell, Head of PHE's Culture Collections. "Licensing the Lenticule disc technology to Sigma-Aldrich means the PHE microbiologists can concentrate on the development of new products to improve health outcomes, while end users benefit from Sigma-Aldrich's expertise in manufacturing and global distribution."

The CRMs will be produced in accordance with ISO Guide 34 and individually packed at Sigma-Aldrich for customer convenience. "We have invested in a new, dedicated Biosafety Level 2 facility and expanded the scope of our ISO 17025/ ISO Guide 34 accreditation to manufacture this product range in full accordance with our Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) and quality guidelines," said Fabian Wahl, Ph.D., business development director at Sigma-Aldrich.