Why Gel imaging is important to synthetic biology?

Gel electrophoresis is one of the most essential tools in biology, it is an essential part for restriction diagnostic test for nucleic acid, resolving PCR products, etc. Having a gel imaging tool in proximity can increase the productivity of the lab. In our case, since the closest gel imaging tools is far away from HKUST iGEM lab, we decided to build a gel imaging station for our own use, using simple and easy-to-get materials.

Material for DIY Gel imaging Station

The DIY Gel imaging station mainly consist of six parts:

In addition to the materials listed above, a stand and clamp is used to hold the camera in place. A heat block is used as a counter weight to keep the set up balance. The inside of the case is wrapped with two layers of aluminium foil to insulate the UV radiation emitted from the UV trans-illuminator when it is being turned on.

A small hole is drilled at the back of the plastic case (not shown on picture above). This hole allows connection between the power cord and the UV trans-illuminator.

For live viewing of gel from computer, DigiCamControl, an open source software is used. This software allows the control (including auto focus and capturing picture) of the camera from the connected computer.

From Prototype to a Working Model

Prototype

Before we built the DIY Gel imaging station, we built a prototype to prove the feasibility of a DIY gel imaging station. Here is how we build this prototype:

1. We obtained a plastic bucket and drilled a 5 cm hole on the bottom of it.
2. We placed a filter on top of the hole and put a camera on top of the filter.
3. An electrophoresed agarose gel stained with Midori Green is placed on top of the UV trans-illuminator
4. The entire bucket, with the filter and camera are placed on top of the UV trans-illuminator, and a photo was taken

Working Model

After we confirmed that we could take Gel photo using easy-to-get materials, we proceeded to build a case especially for this purpose. With the case, the imaging station will be more durable. We choose plastic as the material for case. Plastic is resistant to rust and inert to acid and base. Using plastic can prevent rusting and is easy to maintain.

A photo was taken using this model of DIY Gel imaging station to prove the functionality of the station. This is the 1^st photo taken:

The above gel is 0.8% agarose gel pre-stained with Midori Green Gel Advance DNA stain. Each lane is loaded with NEB 1 kb DNA Ladder (N3232, NEB). A green filter is used in taking the photo. As shown on the picture above, each band is clearly shown. Each band is bright enough to be observed.