Increasing productivity in your academic, forensics, or research lab can be as simple and affordable as reaching into your pocket with Analytik Jena’s new smartphone-driven UVP Gel Compact. Compatible with a wide range of devices, the UVP Gel Compact enables users to acquire and document gels, colony plates, and colorimetry without the need for expensive, scientific-grade cameras.
The instrument boasts a compact design (17.5 x 14 x 15 in) and low weight (29 lbs) for ease of use in small laboratory settings, but with a choice of 302 nm UV transilluminator or transilluminator or a blue light transilluminator and overhead blue and white LED excitation light sources, it packs a lot of power into that small footprint. By exploiting all the capabilities of smartphone cameras, the UVP Gel Compact can image DNA and protein samples stained with EtBr, GelGreen, GelRed, SYBR Safe, Coomassie Blue, Silver Stain, and Stain Free gels. It can also image fluorescent bacterial colonies expressing GFP and RFP signals.
The accompanying VisionWorks App—also from Analytik Jena and available for iOS and Android—connects your phone and instrument via Bluetooth. It gives users full control of the UVP Gel Compact darkroom features, including filter wheel, overhead white and blue lights, and transillumination, for easy acquisition.
All images taken with the smartphone are saved into its memory as JPGs and can be analyzed for bacteria colony number in a culture plate or protein and DNA band size. The powerful software comes with automated 1D lanes and bands detection, molecular weight calibration, and densitometry analysis. Captured images can be instantly uploaded to the cloud for analysis and notation on any smart device. The app also features an easy user interface with self-explanatory icons.
Common applications of the UVP Gel Compact-VisionWorks App system include, but are not limited to, colony counting, DNA gel, RNA gel, and protein gel capture and analysis. The UVP Gel Compact comes with a four-position automated emission filter tray with a broad band emission filter and a phone adapter/holder to seamlessly enable a range of phone sizes. Optional accessories available for purchase include the UVP Visi-White Converter plate, UVP Visi-Blue converter plate, and a range of emission filters.
The UVP Gel Compact also costs considerably less than other gel imagers without sacrificing functionality. By not requiring your lab to pay for expensive lighting, camera, and interface components already available in every researchers’ pockets, the engineers at Analytik Jena have delivered an efficient solution for your lab’s every day analytical needs without wasting resources.