The AlphaDigiDoc® RT gel documentation system is a very useful apparatus. We have been using it for documentation and analysis of different types of gels, including agarose and acrylamide nucleic acid gels stained with various dyes, such as ethidium bromide, SYBR® Green, SYBR® Gold, SYPRO® – 500, FLSC - 500 or protein gels stained with conventional dyes. The AlphaDigiDoc® RT includes a MultiImage® Light Cabinet, an 8 Megapixel digital Camera (Olympus), a fast computer (locally made with 250 GB Hard Disc, Pentium 4 with 512 MB RAM) and a printer. The software loaded into the system is versatile, AlphaEase FC/AlphaDigiDoc® RT.
The light cabinet is a very convenient tabletop chamber with an UV transilluminator. It illuminates at high and low levels. Above this transilluminator, there is a transilluminating EPI white platform, which could be folded into the top when using the UV. Light from both of these sources (UV and EPI white) can be utilized directly, or as reflected light. A filter wheel holds up to 5 different filters (filters are optional accessories). The camera is mounted to the top of the light cabinet.
The AlphaDigiDoc® RT software operates the entire system. The system can be run entirely from the computer, from choosing the light source to changing the filters and acquiring the photograph. An ‘acquire’ button in the software guides the user to the adjustments of the camera parameters; settings can be set to be automatic or can be changed as desired. After you acquire the photograph, the same software can be used for editing, labeling etc. There is also a false color provision, which can be used for viewing even very faint bands in the gel. The analysis tools provided include molecular weight calculation, Rf determination, 1-D lane densitometry, 2-D spot densitometry, quantitative PCR, microtiter plate reading, object distance measuring, gel scoring, and automatic colony counting. The analysis tools are so versatile that they are also able to perform phylogenetic analysis of nucleic acid fragments from gels containing related genetic polymorphisms from studies using different genetic distance parameters. The printer supplied with the system (we have HP laser printer) prints publication quality gels; analysis parameters can also be printed out.
We have been using this system for the past six months for routine documentation and analysis of starch (protein), agarose and acryl amide gels. Gel documentation has become very easy since we started using this system. It is completely problem-free. As mentioned the entire operation of the system can be carried out via the computer and thus, liberates the researcher from exposure to UV light. This also makes the system easier to use than conventional, cumbersome and expensive Polaroid photography. The photographs can be stored as high resolution for future use in the computer or on CDs or other Digital media.
In summary, The AlphaDigiDoc® RT System is a complete package, including all of the hardware and software needed for image capture, enhancement and analysis.
Even though it is little expensive compared to other similar systems, it is a very versatile gel documentation system with good software for gel data analysis. This system could be very useful apparatus for molecular biology laboratories.
Dr. N. Pradeep Kumar
Assistant Director
Department of Molecular Entomology
Vector Control Research Centre (ICMR)
India