Portable agarose gel electrophoresis system with built-in safe imager

(Last Updated On: October 15, 2022)

Here, I have described some of the recently developed portable agarose gel electrophoresis systems with the built-in safe imager. The built-in imager or illuminator helps us visualize the DNA migration in real time while doing electrophoresis. These setups have been designed in such a way that removes the fear of UV-based DNA damage and UV exposure. They give DNA products with improved cloning efficiency without the necessity of further purification.

1. The MUPID^TM-One LED Illuminator

The MUPID^TM-One LED Illuminator is an electrophoresis system. It has a built-in transilluminator that can be used to visualize the DNA migration during electrophoresis. It allows the detection of DNA fragments without the need for a UV transilluminator. This is because it has a built-in blue LED light illuminator that provides you with real-time monitoring of DNA migration. The orange-colored filter /cover allows your safety during the gel viewing and you do not need to wear the goggles.

The blue LED light illuminator emits light of 470 nm that illuminates the DNA bands in the gel. However, the gel should be pre-cast stained with Midoiri Green or SYBR dyes compatible with blue illuminators. Since it doesn’t emit short-wave UV lights, the DNA samples are safe for downstream applications. However, MUP^TM-One LED Illuminator is compatible only with the MUPLD^TM-One gel electrophoresis power system and comes with a gel casting set, gel chamber, power system, combs, gel trays (both small and large)

It can easily be used to purify DNA fragments while performing electrophoresis. To do so, there must be two well systems; sample well and collection well at a fixed distance below the sample well. Load the samples in the sample wells and run the electrophoresis. When the samples reach the collection well, you can collect the samples from the sample from the collection well. To buy the setup, please visit the homepage of NIPPON Genetics EUROPE.

Features of the product;

1. Size: 166 x 170 x 51 mm
2. Viewing Area: 150 x 60 mm
3. Weight: 0.9 kg
4. LED wavelength: 470 nm
5. Filter: orange
6. DNA sensitivity: about 2ng

2. BlueGel^TM Electrophoresis System

BlueGel^TM is another inexpensive, portable, handy electrophoresis system that is integrated with a built-in blue LED safe imager. The setup can be used to visualize the DNA bands as they separate during the electrophoresis. It gives fast results and requires 10 times lesser reagents than the traditional one. This instrument is developed by minipcr and avoids the use of any other gel documentation system and transilluminators that use UV light.

It operates at 48V and requires no use of the Ethidium bromide (the most mutagenic, unsafe DNA staining dye). The system is built-in with a blue LED light transilluminator (safe imager) that illuminates the DNA bands in the gel. The gel should be pre-cast stained with GreenView^TM plus DNA staining dye or any other dyes compatible with the blue illuminator. It has a two-button operation; one is for the run and another one is for the DNA visualization.

Since it doesn’t require the use of UV light the electrophoresis products can directly be used for downstream applications. To take a picture of the gel, you can simply use your cell phone. For the user guide, watch this video on YouTube. If you are interested in buying this product, please visit the product website, minipcr. It costs 350USD per setup which is an affordable price.

Features of the product are;

1. Gel size: 60×60 mm
2. Gel volume: 15 ml
3. Buffer volume: 25 ml power supply AC 100-240V, 50-60 Hz, 48V
4. Dimension: 9 x 4 x 3 inch
5. Weight: 350g

The setup includes;

1. Gel casting platform
2. Two combs each with 9 and 13 wells
3. A buffer chamber
4. A gel tray to cast the gel
5. The blue base
6. An orange cover
7. A cleaning cloth and ClearView^TM spray to clean the blue transilluminator lens
8. A power supply adaptor

3. E-Gel^® Safe Imager^TM Real-Time Transilluminator

The second most portable agarose gel electrophoresis integrated with a built-in safe imager is the E-Gel^® Safe Imager^TM Real-time Transilluminator. It has been developed by Invitrogen^TM which also allows you to trace the migration of DNA fragments in a real-time manner. It gives enhanced cloning efficiency of retrieved DNA (DNA extracted from the gel) as well as improved safety for the users.

E-Gel^® Safe Imager^TM Real-time Transilluminator can be purchased as a stand-alone item or in combination with the E-Gel^® iBase^TM Power System or it can also be purchased as a part of a Starter Kit that includes an E-Gel® iBase^TM Power System, E-Gel^® CloneWell^TM gels, and an E-Gel^® 96 High Range RNA Marker.

To perform the real-time electrophoresis and DNA visualization E-Gel^® iBase^TM Power System needs to be integrated with E-Gel^® Safe Images^TM Real-time Transilluminator. The gel used for the electrophoresis is the E-Gel^® CloneWell^TM gel. The system is sophisticated in the sense that a running/tank buffer is not required for the electrophoresis. Electrodes of copper have been attached to both sides of the E-Gel^® CloneWell^TM gel. These electrodes directly touch the corresponding electrodes on the E-Gel^® iBase^TM Power System.

The electrophoretic system including, E-Gel^® iBase^TM Power System and E-Gel® Safe Images^TM Real-time Transilluminator has an automatic shutoff feature that prevents the overrun of the gel. The E-gels used for the electrophoresis using this setup contain SYBR^® Safe DNA binding dye that allows visualization of the DNA fragments in real-time. For extraction/isolation purpose direction of the electric field can be reversed.

Product Features

Assembly of the setup is very simple as it is a self-contained device. You just need to connect the AC adapter provided with the setup and insert the E-gel into the top of the E-Gel^® iBase^TM Power system attached to the E-Gel® Safe Images^TM Real-time Transilluminator. Load your sample into the well and place water into the blank wells and cover the gel with an amber filter and that’s all. Press the power button and set the voltage and time as required and run. Don’t forget to load the DNA marker while running the sample.

E-Gel^® Safe Imager^TM Real-time Transilluminator is normally used for the electrophoretic isolation and or separation of the DNA fragments/PCR products. It removes the need for further purification of the isolated samples which are ready to use. The E-gels contain two sets of wells; sample wells and collection wells. You will load your samples into the sample wells and start the electrophoresis.

After the samples reach the collection wells, you can collect your sample directly from the collection wells using a micropipette. The isolated product gives an improved cloning efficiency as there is no use of UV rays that can damage the DNA. For the user guide, watch this video on YouTube and to buy the product, visit the homepage of Thermo Fischer.