The F-ChemiBIS 6.0 Pro is specifically designed for biological research and is ideally suited for 1D and 2D image analysis. The F-ChemiBIS 6.0 Pro imaging system can be used for white light, fluorescence (illumination by UV or wavelength-specific LEDs), chemifluorescence and chemiluminescence applications. The F-ChemiBIS 6.0 Pro is based on a breakthrough liquid cooling technology which enables the system to remain stable down to temperatures of -60
ºC and puts its performance a step ahead of all competitive systems currently on the market. The standard fully-automated, self-monitoring system includes a 16-bit cooled CCD camera with 6 megapixel resolution; vibration-free optics for very accurate, long-exposure procedures; fully computerized Smart Dark Chamber™ technology; high speed lens; USB 2.0 interface enabling simple connection of the system to a PC or laptop; motorized 6 position filter wheel; and more.
The F-ChemiBIS 6.0 Pro has unique lighting and excitation technologies for extremely precise imaging. In addition to traditional modes of illumination such as trans or epi UV and white light, it has unique monochromatic LED-illumination for excitation of most fluorescent dyes. The three interchangeable drawers [chemiluminescence, UV, white light] can be removed easily and washed for a clean and safe environment
The system comes with a software package which includes applications for gel capture and gel quantification. The gel capture software is very simple and easy to use. You can adjust camera settings through the software itself. With the Auto Focusing function, the camera focuses automatically on the gels, but takes around 1 minute. The Gel Quantification function automatically detects lanes and bands within a gel. The software also includes preloaded sets of markers, which makes calculating molecular weight easy.
The tray is big enough to accommodate huge gels (up to 20 x 26 cm) with more than 100 lanes/gel. The tray is equipped with sensors which help the software to identify the tray (i.e. white light, UV or chemiluminescence tray). The door is fully interlocked which prevents accidental UV exposure. If the door remains open there is a “door open” warning in the software; also the UV lights won’t turn on if the door remains open. The 6 megapixel camera with liquid cooling technology gives very sharp images; very faint bands can also be seen clearly.
We are using this instrument for mostly UV applications, such as DNA gels stained with Ethidium bromide or SYBR® Green. The images we get are very sharp and very light bands are also differentiated clearly. The camera quality is so good that we can manually focus the gels in less than 30 seconds. Identification of lanes and bands is done automatically in just one click. Accurate calculation of molecular weights from even the most distorted gel images is possible using the software provided. We have also tried colony counting, and it’s very easy. In just one click you get the number of colonies. Editing tools are also available which can be used if colonies are not detected properly. All the data can be stored in excel format which makes analysis easy. This system can be used for array applications also, such as analyzing macroarrays, dot and slot blots, microtiter plates and ELISAs. The wizard type interface of this software has made analysis very easy and saves lots of time.
My overall opinion about this system is that it’s a very good system. I would recommend this system for research labs doing 1D and 2D image analysis .The software is very user friendly; also the liquid cooled camera captures sharp images which make analysis easy. This system does give a value for the money spent.
Mandar Divekar
Application Specialist
Biotron Healthcare
Molecular Biology Lab