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Blue Light Transilluminators
Looking to replace an aging UV transilluminator? Explore our LED based options— Invitrogen Safe Imager 2.0 Blue Light Transilluminator and Dual LED Blue/White Light Transilluminator. Many UV transilluminators utilize fluorescent UV bulbs, which can have a significantly shorter lifetime than LEDs. The blue spectrum light of our LED transilluminators can effectively excite many of the popular nucleic acid stains as UV spectrum light, but without the UV associated hazards.
Invitrogen Blue Light Transilluminators
| Dual LED Blue/White Light Transilluminator | Safe Imager 2.0 Blue Light Transilluminator | |
|---|---|---|
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| Select when |
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| Applications |
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| Features |
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| Instrument dimensions (L x W x H) | 22 × 18.5 × 3 cm (8.7 x 7.3 x 1.2 in) | 32.5 × 19.5 × 6.5 cm (12.8 × 7.7 × 2.6 in) |
| Viewing surface dimensions | 12 × 18 cm (4.8 x 7.2 in) | 19 × 19 cm (7.5 × 7.5 in) |
| LED source | Blue and white LEDs | Blue LED |
| Emission maximum of Blue LED | 470 nm | 470 nm |
Safe Imager 2.0 Blue Light Transilluminator contents and features
Transilluminator base and Amber filter unit–light from the LED source inside the transilluminator passes through a blue filter producing a single-intensity signal at approximately 470 nm. The amber filter unit filters light to ~580 nm and provides a large viewing surface.
On and off switch–red mark is seen when on.
Safe Imager viewing glasses (amber)–the Safe Imager viewing glasses allows one to visualize gel bands without the use of the Safe Imager amber filter, which makes band excision easier.
Dual LED Blue/White Light Transilluminator contents and features
Transilluminator base–white and blue light sources that allow for visualization of common nucleic acid stains, colorimetric protein and membrane stains, and SYPRO protein stains.
Five-minute automatic power-off and three-level adjustable light intensity to achieve the best visualization.
Amber filter cover (Filters to ~580 nm)–magnetic filter screen with hinge-free design for simplicity and safety, allowing observation and gel-cutting without protective light filtering goggles.
Foldable imaging hood–create a mini darkroom to record your results with a quick snapshot from your phone, tablet or camera.
Why blue light transillumination
 | No harmful UV rays: While UV light effectively excites many fluorescent dyes and stains, UV light is a health hazard. Further, prolonged exposure to UV light can damage DNA samples, and compromise the integrity of samples to be used for downstream applications, such as subcloning. |
 | No mercury waste: UV transilluminator bulbs can contain mercury, a hazardous substance, and therefore require special care for handling and disposal. |
 | Longer lifetime: LED bulbs have a substantially longer real-time life than UV bulbs, which can add up to considerable cost savings over the lifetime of the instrument. |
Increase cloning efficiency and reduce DNA damage with LED transillumination
A 30-second exposure to ethidium bromide and UV reduces cloning efficiency. Gels loaded with equal amounts of a PCR product (1.25 kb gene fragment from Ultimate ORF IOH# 11050) were stained with either SYBR Safe DNA gel stain (1:10,000 in TBE) or ethidium bromide (0.5 µg/ml in TBE) following electrophoresis. The gels were visualized with the Safe Imager transilluminator or an UV transillumination. Bands were excised at defined exposure times. DNA was purified from the gel fragments under identical conditions and used in parallel sub-cloning reactions. Following transformation into OneShot TOP 10 chemically competent bacteria, three serial dilutions were plated and colonies counted.
Use of SYBR Safe Stain and the Safe Imager Transilluminator causes minimal DNA damage. Equivalent fractions of supercoiled DNA stained with SYBR Safe DNA Gel Stain or ethidium bromide were exposed to blue light (Safe Imager Transilluminator) (A) or UV light (B), respectively, for defined periods of time and evaluated by agarose electrophoresis. A slower migrating species is indicative of a linear or relaxed circular vector resulting from DNA nicking or strand breaks.
Example application data
SYBR Green stained nucleic acid gel
Colorimetric western blot
SYPRO Orange stained protein gel
Nucleic acid gel visualization
| Dual LED Blue/White Light Transilluminator | Safe Imager 2.0 Blue Light Transilluminator | |
|---|---|---|
| Ethidium bromide | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYBR Green I | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYBR Green II | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYBR Safe | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYBR Gold | ✔ | ✔ |
Protein gel visualization
| Dual LED Blue/White Light Transilluminator | Safe Imager 2.0 Blue Light Transilluminator | |
|---|---|---|
| Coomassie stains | ✔ | |
| Silver stains | ✔ | |
| SYPRO Ruby | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYPRO Orange | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYPRO Tangerine | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYPRO Red | ✔ | ✔ |
| Coomassie Fluor Orange stains | ✔ | ✔ |
Membrane visualization
| Dual LED Blue/White Light Transilluminator | Safe Imager 2.0 Blue Light Transilluminator | |
|---|---|---|
| SYPRO Ruby Blot Stain | ✔ | ✔ |
| No-Stain Protein Labeling Reagent | ✔ | ✔ |
Manuals
Invitrogen Blue Light Transilluminators
| Dual LED Blue/White Light Transilluminator | Safe Imager 2.0 Blue Light Transilluminator | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
| Select when |
|
|
| Applications |
|
|
| Features |
|
|
| Instrument dimensions (L x W x H) | 22 × 18.5 × 3 cm (8.7 x 7.3 x 1.2 in) | 32.5 × 19.5 × 6.5 cm (12.8 × 7.7 × 2.6 in) |
| Viewing surface dimensions | 12 × 18 cm (4.8 x 7.2 in) | 19 × 19 cm (7.5 × 7.5 in) |
| LED source | Blue and white LEDs | Blue LED |
| Emission maximum of Blue LED | 470 nm | 470 nm |
Safe Imager 2.0 Blue Light Transilluminator contents and features
Transilluminator base and Amber filter unit–light from the LED source inside the transilluminator passes through a blue filter producing a single-intensity signal at approximately 470 nm. The amber filter unit filters light to ~580 nm and provides a large viewing surface.
On and off switch–red mark is seen when on.
Safe Imager viewing glasses (amber)–the Safe Imager viewing glasses allows one to visualize gel bands without the use of the Safe Imager amber filter, which makes band excision easier.
Dual LED Blue/White Light Transilluminator contents and features
Transilluminator base–white and blue light sources that allow for visualization of common nucleic acid stains, colorimetric protein and membrane stains, and SYPRO protein stains.
Five-minute automatic power-off and three-level adjustable light intensity to achieve the best visualization.
Amber filter cover (Filters to ~580 nm)–magnetic filter screen with hinge-free design for simplicity and safety, allowing observation and gel-cutting without protective light filtering goggles.
Foldable imaging hood–create a mini darkroom to record your results with a quick snapshot from your phone, tablet or camera.
Why blue light transillumination
| No harmful UV rays: While UV light effectively excites many fluorescent dyes and stains, UV light is a health hazard. Further, prolonged exposure to UV light can damage DNA samples, and compromise the integrity of samples to be used for downstream applications, such as subcloning. |
| No mercury waste: UV transilluminator bulbs can contain mercury, a hazardous substance, and therefore require special care for handling and disposal. |
| Longer lifetime: LED bulbs have a substantially longer real-time life than UV bulbs, which can add up to considerable cost savings over the lifetime of the instrument. |
Increase cloning efficiency and reduce DNA damage with LED transillumination
A 30-second exposure to ethidium bromide and UV reduces cloning efficiency. Gels loaded with equal amounts of a PCR product (1.25 kb gene fragment from Ultimate ORF IOH# 11050) were stained with either SYBR Safe DNA gel stain (1:10,000 in TBE) or ethidium bromide (0.5 µg/ml in TBE) following electrophoresis. The gels were visualized with the Safe Imager transilluminator or an UV transillumination. Bands were excised at defined exposure times. DNA was purified from the gel fragments under identical conditions and used in parallel sub-cloning reactions. Following transformation into OneShot TOP 10 chemically competent bacteria, three serial dilutions were plated and colonies counted.
Use of SYBR Safe Stain and the Safe Imager Transilluminator causes minimal DNA damage. Equivalent fractions of supercoiled DNA stained with SYBR Safe DNA Gel Stain or ethidium bromide were exposed to blue light (Safe Imager Transilluminator) (A) or UV light (B), respectively, for defined periods of time and evaluated by agarose electrophoresis. A slower migrating species is indicative of a linear or relaxed circular vector resulting from DNA nicking or strand breaks.
Example application data
SYBR Green stained nucleic acid gel
Colorimetric western blot
SYPRO Orange stained protein gel
Nucleic acid gel visualization
| Dual LED Blue/White Light Transilluminator | Safe Imager 2.0 Blue Light Transilluminator | |
|---|---|---|
| Ethidium bromide | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYBR Green I | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYBR Green II | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYBR Safe | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYBR Gold | ✔ | ✔ |
Protein gel visualization
| Dual LED Blue/White Light Transilluminator | Safe Imager 2.0 Blue Light Transilluminator | |
|---|---|---|
| Coomassie stains | ✔ | |
| Silver stains | ✔ | |
| SYPRO Ruby | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYPRO Orange | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYPRO Tangerine | ✔ | ✔ |
| SYPRO Red | ✔ | ✔ |
| Coomassie Fluor Orange stains | ✔ | ✔ |
Membrane visualization
| Dual LED Blue/White Light Transilluminator | Safe Imager 2.0 Blue Light Transilluminator | |
|---|---|---|
| SYPRO Ruby Blot Stain | ✔ | ✔ |
| No-Stain Protein Labeling Reagent | ✔ | ✔ |
Manuals
Resources
iBright Imaging Systems - combined western blot and gel imaging.