UVITECH UVIdoc Gel Documentation System From Jencons Scientific, Inc.

Gel electrophoresis is a classic and very reliable method to separate nucleic acid (DNA and RNA) and protein molecules by size. Agarose gel electrophoresis is a very popular method to separate mixtures of nucleic acids. The separation is achieved by applying an electric field across the gel which causes the negatively charged nucleic acid molecules to move towards the cathode of the system. The agarose gel contains molecules of ethidium bromide (EtBr) which intercalate into the migrating nucleic acid molecules. When exposed to ultraviolet light, EtBr will fluoresce. The intensity of EtBr’s fluorescence increases dramatically, once bound to nucleic acids. The UVITECH UVIdoc gel documentation system by Jencons Scientific, Inc. can capture the emitted light from the DNA/RNA-bound EtBr and produce high quality pictures

The UVIdoc comes in two formats. Model 286-239 is supplied with a CCTV monitor. If you want a documentation system and a monitor in one device, you can choose 286-741 that has a built-in 5.6-inch LCD camera. This way you can minimize the room occupied by your gel documentation system. UVIdoc contains a compact flash slot and disk-drive that allow easy capture of an image directly to the storage device of your choice, in TIFF/JPG formats. Then you can use image manipulation software of your choice to annotate and analyze your results.

The magnification and focusing of the lens can be very easily adjusted by turning the camera rings on the top of the device clockwise or counter-clockwise. A great feature of the UVIdoc is the saturation monitoring of the live image. I have found this feature to be of great value to me because it allows me to capture images with band intensities that are fully and reproducibly quantifiable. Furthermore, each image can be saved in an 8 or 12 bit format, thus allowing more reliable quantification, due to the increased dynamic range of the signal.

Another feature that will thrill network fans is the addition of a network card in the device. Thus, UVIdoc can be installed onto the local network of the department and allow fast access to images stored in the device.

UVIdoc is extremely easy to operate and there is no need for extensive training in order to be able to acquire publication-quality images in a matter of a few minutes. If the door of the darkroom is accidentally opened, while the device is operating, the UV lamp shuts down. This safety feature protects the users from harmful UV output.

Because both models of UVIdoc are so simple to operate, minimal training is required and high quality images can be acquired in seconds. This, combined with safety features, makes either UVIdoc ideal for environments with a high number of regular or casual users. The user interface includes a wipe-clean six-button keypad conveniently positioned at eye level.