Generally we use gel doc for documenting gel images. But recently, I learned that some are using high pixel camera for taking gel images. How is this possible? Can we use high pixel camera as an alternative to gel doc? If yes, how should it be done to effectively capture the image of gel?
Yes. It is just a matter of making sure that the camera captures all the regions of interest. The photo image can be analysed in ImageJ or other software. If the gel is being visualized on UV, however, I would recommend using a transilluminator with a built-in camera, for safety reasons.
I am curious...why would one need a high-resolution picture of EtBr gel (unless there are numerous bands expected in each lane)? Besides, if you try taking a picture with your own camera, are not you exposing yourself to dangerously high doses of UV? In what circumstances would you need better imaging than a standard geldoc system?
Any camera will work fine but you do need a red filter like Manuel mentions above. Otherwise the UV light will just cause your image to be white all over.
Hi Nimal,
For imaging protein bands of PAGE gels, one can simply place the gel carefully between two transparent folders, clean off the extra water & scan the set-up using any decent scanner. I use Samsung CLX 3305FN & works fine. I get a nice image of the gel. If you still need better resolution, you can change the parameters like brightness, contrast & color using a photoshop tool. I am not sure if this answers your question (alternate way of documenting gels).
With agarose gels with EtBr, I suggest to stick to Geldoc to avoid undesired cross-contaminations.
Regards,
Sagar S
if you are scanning for bands polymorphism it's difficult without a transilluminator
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