A product that others can’t make! A returned overseas PhD brings “outstanding achievements” back to Zhongshan to start a business.

“Our product is now on the market, and our equipment has been sold to the National Institutes of Health in the United States,” Huang Shaohui, a researcher and PhD from the Institute of Biophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said with a smile to reporters from his office at the company’s new location in the Health and Pharmaceutical Demonstration Zone of the China-Switzerland (Europe) Industrial Park on Ma’an Island in the Cuiheng New Area on March 20. His tone was just as confident as it had been two years ago, when he first started his business.

▲ Dr. Huang Shaohui introduces their high-end research equipment. This equipment has been sold to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a top U.S. research institution.

According to publicly available information, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), located in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, is the nation's premier biomedical and behavioral research institution. Founded in 1887, its mission is to explore fundamental knowledge in the areas of life sciences and behavioral science.

According to Huang Shaohui, currently few domestic companies sell high-end, precision scientific research equipment to top-tier research institutions abroad. They are... The first company to sell high-end, precision scientific research equipment to the NIH.

In fact, from the very beginning of the company’s establishment, Huang Shaohui’s products have attracted considerable attention.

Huang Shaohui’s ancestral home is Xiaolan Town in Zhongshan. He has lived abroad for over 30 years and completed his postdoctoral research at Cornell University in the United States. He is an “Outstanding Technical Talent Introduced” by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2017, through Zhongshan’s “328” initiative, Huang Shaohui returned to Zhongshan to start his own business, hoping to rapidly commercialize internationally leading scientific research findings and establish his own career in Zhongshan.

In January 2017, Guangdong Zhongke Aohui Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Zhongke Aohui”), led by Huang Shaohui, was officially registered and established on Ma'an Island in the Cuiheng New Area. Five months after the company’s establishment, NIH expressed interest in purchasing the company’s products to Huang Shaohui.

◎ Why is this device receiving so much attention?

According to the introduction, Huang Shaohui’s team focuses its research on single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and ultrafast, super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. The fluorescence correlation spectroscopy technology developed by the team enables rapid (from seconds to minutes) quantitative analysis of molecular characteristics—such as concentration, size, and interactions—in trace (less than 20 microliters) solution samples at single-molecule resolution. This technology holds broad application prospects in fields including scientific research, drug development, medical diagnostics, and environmental monitoring.

“Our equipment is the only one of its kind in the world.” Huang Shaohui said that they are industrializing advanced technologies and have developed a desktop fluorescence correlation spectroscopy single-molecule analyzer. This instrument has the same application areas as similar systems produced by international giants such as Zeiss, yet it is more competitive. Their product... It overcomes the challenges of existing international equipment, such as complicated operation, high costs, immobility, and large size. Traditional equipment, just the optical platform alone, can weigh several tons, whereas the entire desktop fluorescence correlation spectroscopy single-molecule analyzer weighs only 20 kilograms and costs only one-quarter or one-eighth of the price of conventional equipment.

According to reports, Zhongke Aohui has already productized this technology. The desktop fluorescence correlation spectroscopy single-molecule analyzer, CorTectorTM SX100, has obtained U.S. FCC certification and CDRH registration.

In December 2018, CorTectorTM SX100 was officially launched for sale to the NIH. Huang Shaohui led a team to the United States to complete instrument installation and customer training. In addition, research institutions such as the University of California, San Francisco, have also become customers of Zhongke Aohui. This product has been included in the first batch of domestically produced instruments recommended by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and was recognized as a high-tech product of Guangdong Province in 2018.

“Running a business is different from conducting scientific research. First of all, we have to survive—so...” First, create products that others can't. "Huang Shaohui said that their entrepreneurial positioning is very clear: first, they’ll focus on R&D and manufacturing of high-end scientific research equipment, leveraging the cutting-edge technology they’ve mastered to establish a solid foothold." Next, we will develop peripheral products centered around high-end scientific research equipment. Specifically, we will create an immediate screening device for initial blood donation tests, along with corresponding in vitro diagnostic reagents, targeting the broader field of blood health. These technologies and products will provide technical and product support for blood testing before donation to over 400 blood centers and mobile blood collection vehicles nationwide.

▲ In the U.S., Huang Shaohui provides product operation training for clients.

◎ Looking forward to seeing our dreams come true on Horseback Island.

Huang Shaohui is experiencing a transition from a research professional to a corporate manager, and his dream is steadily and rapidly becoming a reality on Ma'an Island.

“Our technology is highly specialized and has few competitors, yet in the market, it’s like a primary school student competing against a university student,” said Huang Shaohui. Zhongshan City and the Cuiheng New Area have provided enterprises with favorable support policies and fostered a positive development environment. The industrial park is equipped with basketball courts, sports fields, and a public canteen, enabling companies to quickly establish themselves. Currently, Zhongke Aohui not only successfully commercialized its R&D of high-end scientific research equipment but is also making steady progress in the R&D and manufacturing of medical devices.

Six months ago, Huang Shaohui’s company was still based at an incubation facility on Ma’an Island. Today, at its new company in the Health and Pharmaceutical Demonstration Zone of the China-Switzerland (Europe) Industrial Park, the office and factory space spans nearly 2,000 square meters. The company has established a research and development and production center for high-end scientific equipment and POCT instruments, a GMP-compliant workshop for the R&D and production of in vitro diagnostic reagents, and a precision machinery design and manufacturing center. The facilities are equipped with advanced equipment and instruments, including a five-axis CNC machining center, 3D printers, and high-precision nanometer-level stages.

“The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is already at the forefront in many areas, including urban development,” said Huang Shaohui. Having lived abroad for over 30 years and familiar with the development of world-class bay areas such as the New York Bay Area, he is deeply confident about the future of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area—and equally excited about his entrepreneurial dreams.