Blue light transluminator recommendations

[Koeng]

Hello,

I would like to switch dyes because there is far too much stigma over ethidium bromide and I dislike having to use UV light to visualize gels (http://bitesizebio.com/10264/turn-away-from-the-uv-light/#comment-2843). I would also like a good amount of detection, so I was thinking of switching over to SYBR safe. If anyone has a better dye that doesn't require UV and is decently sensitive, that would be appreciated as well.

Where is, in your opinion, the best place to get a blue light transluminator? I can potentially build one, but I'd rather just buy it if it's cheap enough. Thanks

-Koeng

[Sebastian S Cocioba]

I use GelGreen from Biotium since their formula allegedly cannot pass the plasma membrane vs SYBR and the Embitec PearlOne Sapphire blue light transiluminator. Just buy some 512nm LEDS and for Odin's sake illuminate your gel from the sides not below. I have no idea why people do that. Barely any contrast. Here is an image of a recent gel of mine using the aforementioned chems and equip. Gel was run on BullDog Bio's $225 model minigel system which I LOVE: 

Note many of the LEDs fried due to a student mishap with TAE. Still clear nice banding with dark contrast. Even better when all the lights are on. Blue blocker filter is just an orange acrylic or theater acetate film. 1/8" or so. This blue visualizer is overpriced and strongly recommend making one yourself just don't illuminate from below and always make box out of black material for contrast's sake. My opinion but it works very well for me. If they waterproofed the LED area (or I caulked it with a bit of silicone) it would have been much better. Either way it works well. 

Sebastian S. Cocioba

CEO & Founder

New York Botanics, LLC

Blog: ATinyGreenCell.com

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[Koeng]

I tried to find the PearlOne blue light transilluminator, but I couldn't find it. How much did that cost? Also thanks for the gel dye recommendation, the GelGreen dye looks great! I'm checking out the bulldog bio's minigel system to see if it is worth switching. 

-Koeng

[Avery louie]

You can read all about the things I tried here:

https://tequals0.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/the-guide-to-diy-gel-illumination/

The best value for most people will be an LED lighting panel like this one.  Hook it up to 12 v and off ya go.  It will give you acceptable results with pretty much any camera (or your eyes).  You don't have to worry too much about wavelength because LEDs only put out energy at certain frequencies.  The trick here is to diffuse the light so you dont get hot spots- that can create highlights in your images that hide bands.  a translucent piece of plastic is the winner here.

For a filter, any old orange thing (orange acrylic) will do- I ordered some roscolux deep straw gel filter, but I never tried it.  Some will work better than others.

Here are some shots with a similar setup that I used for a month or so.  The black paper on the back is for contrast, but it does not do much for diffusion.

Have fun!  Gel green is good stuff.  phenix biotech will sell you sample quantities at a reasonable price.

--A

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[Sebastian S Cocioba]

Sorry, typo:

http://embitec.com/pi-1000-non-uv-blue-lightbox.html

I got it used on eBay with "severe cosmetic damage" for $90. I would not buy from these bandits but rather rip off their design for personal use.

Sebastian S. Cocioba

CEO & Founder

New York Botanics, LLC

Blog: ATinyGreenCell.com

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[Kermit Henson]

IORodeo Transiluminator plus Sybr Safe. Works like a charm (no photo sorry)

http://public.iorodeo.com/docs/led_transilluminator/

80USD, less if you build it yourself

[Rikke Rasmussen]

I'm using SYBR Green (from Lonza) with a Cleaver Scientific blue light transilluminator. Excellent results with a cardboard box and a cell phone camera.

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[Scott]

I use Green-DNA dye from BioBasic with an second hand Invitrogen Blue Light Safe Imager Transilluminator. The IOrodeo kit should work fine.

http://store.biobasic.com/product/sb2040-size-100ul/

http://store.biobasic.com/product/dt81414-size-1-5ml/

[David Ishee]

I built mine for around $20 out of a plastic box and a blue led strip with 300 LEDs. You just need the strip and power supply and a box with a window.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HSF64E6/ref=sr_ph_1?qid=1456875228&sr=sr-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=blue+light+led+strip

[Koeng]

I got GelGreen with an iorodeo transilluminator and gel imaging box. I got the phone version, which is ok for now, but I might upgrade to get better pictures because there is definitely room for improvement in that sector. Overall, worth!

[TJ]

wow that is very cool!