FAS-Digi Compact Gel Imaging System

Imagine getting the finest details from DNA & RNA gels
The FAS-Digi Compact Gel Imaging system is designed for labs that need a powerful gel documentation system but have limited benchtop space. This imaging platform is built around the FastGene Blue/Green LED Gel TransIlluminator XL which utilizes the superior technology of ultra-bright Blue/Green LEDs. The aquamarine-color illumination hits the sweet spot for exciting common fluorescence DNA dyes such as EtBr and Sybr Green. You can always expect at least equivalent results as compared to UV transilluminators, but without the risk of damaging DNA or harming your skin and eyes. That’s because the lower energy photons from these LEDs, unlike UV light, will not cross-link DNA allowing Blue/Green LEDs to improve your lab’s subcloning efficiency. The system is designed to produce stronger signals and lower background as compared with blue-only LED imagers. And by design, it illuminates from opposite sides (dual LED matrices) as opposed to directly shining light from below like most other gel illuminators. The FAS-Digi Compact is developed for use with either red dyes such as ethidium bromide (EtBr) or next generation non-carcinogenic, non-toxic green dyes like our Midori Green family of safe dyes. LEDs are safer and more efficient than traditional UV bulbs making the FAS-Digi Compact system very small and extraordinarily durable.

Blue/Green Illumination vs UV Illumination

UV-Light: good signal, unhealthy side-effects
UV-light transilluminators use a single wavelength for the visualization of DNA. Red and green DNA dyes, such as ethidium bromide or Midori Green dyes have a good absorption in the UV-light spectrum. This results in DNA bands with sufficient intensity, however, UV-light is dangerous for the user and for the sample DNA. Just 30 seconds of UV-light exposure significantly reduces the cloning efficiency and has consequences for downstream applications. For this reason, visualization of DNA with UV-light is not the preferred method.

Images of different gel stains with Blue/Green illumination

Blue/Green (not Blue) LEDs: safe and strong detection of all DNA dyes
In contrast to UV-light, Blue/Green LED technology uses a wide spectrum of light between 470 nm and 520 nm. This range of wavelengths is much broader than emitted by blue LEDs. This light is not harmful for DNA or for the user. Even ethidium bromide or other red DNA dyes with a low absorption in this spectral area show DNA band intensity comparable to UV illumination. The reason for that is the accumulated energy absorption (area under the curve) of the DNA in the Blue/Green spectrum. Green DNA dyes show very high absorption intensity in the Blue/Green light spectrum, leading to DNA bands with superior intensity.

Upgrade Your Camera
Take images of agarose gels of the highest quality using the Canon EOS 250D. This camera has an immense APS-C CMOS-sensor. The sensor produces no visible noise at all from ISO 100 all the way up to ISO 1600. Furthermore, its 24 megapixels allow the detection of even the faintest signals. The exposure time of the sensor can be set from 1/4000 sec up to 30 sec. A very short exposure guarantees that even the brightest DNA band will be visible within the dynamic range. Exposing the sensor for up 30 sec will enable the detection of bands that your eyes cannot see. The 3x optical zoom (focal length of 18 mm to 55 mm) provides a perfect enlargement of the area of interest.

Easy access
The FAS Digi Compact System has a built-in amber filter viewing window which allows you to observe your illuminated gel, and freeing your hands to cut-out gel bands with precision and ease. And if used with our Midori Green Stain, you don’t need worry about mutagenic dyes either! Fast, precise and totally safe, it’s the best way of working with DNA. There is simply no reason to put yourself or your lab staff at risk during routine handling of DNA for subcloning, genetic analysis, or other applications.

Open the front door for easy access to excise bands from any gel

Safer for you and better for your subcloning
By using safe MIDORI Green dyes and safe Blue/Green LED illumination you can improve your subcloning transformation efficiencies by THREE-FOLD. In the example below, a plasmid vector was double digested with suitable restriction enzymes to create two sticky-ended DNA fragments: the lacZ gene (3,536 bp) and the backbone of the vector (4,318 bp). Equal amounts of digested DNA were electrophoresed on 1% agarose gels. The gels were stained with either ethidium bromide or MIDORI Green Direct gel stain according to the corresponding manuals, and then viewed using either a UV transilluminator or the FastGene Blue/Green LED Illuminator, respectively. The two DNA fragments were excised from the gels and purified using a silica membrane based purification kit. The lacZ gene and the vector backbone were re-ligated using T4 DNA ligase transformed into DH5a cells and plated onto selection plates. The total number of blue and white colonies was counted to evaluate cloning efficiency. Each experiment was conducted in triplicate, and the average cloning efficiency was determined. MIDORI Green Direct resulted in a dramatic increase of positive transformants.

Midori Green Can Boost Your Cloning Results!

Ethidium bromide is typically used in conjunction with a strong UV light source to excise DNA bands for purification prior to the ligation reaction. Short-wavelength light is known to cause thymine dimers and damage DNA. The extent of this damage is not always appreciated. High-energy light wreaks havoc on DNA fragments in mere seconds. As can be seen below, cloning efficiency starts to drop after just a 15 second exposure of DNA in a standard agarose gel. After a 30 second exposure, your cloning experiment is all but dead! In contrast, the cloning efficiency of protocols that use blue LEDs or Nippon Genetics’ super-performing Blue/Green LEDs are completely unaffected by this deleterious effect. If your lab can’t to break itself of its ethidium bromide habit, using a Blue/Green LED Illuminator (or imaging system) should still have an immediate positive impact on DNA integrity and cloning efficiency.

UV Transilluminators Kill Cloning Experiments