Syngene, a world-leading manufacturer of image analysis solutions, is delighted to announce its G:BOX image system is being used at the University of Southampton for a UV shadowing technique to detect unlabelled DNA, enabling scientists there to safely analyse a range of different oligonucleotides. 

The G:BOX is being used by researchers in the School of Chemistry at the University of Southampton to visualise oligonucleotides in an acrylamide gel, placed on a silica-coated TLC plate. The G:BOX illuminates the oligonucleotides by shining UV light (254nm) on to the gel. The oligonucleotides cast a shadow against the TLC plate's fluorescent background, allowing visualisation of the DNA bands with the G:BOX's high resolution CCD camera. The image of the UV shadow is captured using the G:BOX's capture software and the bands are then analysed with GeneTools software to automatically calculate the size and molecular weight of the DNA.   

Dr Afaf El-Sagheer, a Research Fellow in the School of Chemistry commented: "We are synthesising different oligonucleotides using a variety of different organic reactions. We use UV shadowing to analyse them because it provides us with a clear impression of what is happening and is more convenient than using toxic stains like Ethidium bromide. We can detect as little as 0.1 OD₂₆₀ of DNA and visualise DNA ranging from 2-300 bps using the G:BOX, which is sensitive enough for all our research needs."  

Laura Sullivan, Syngene's Divisional Manager, added: "We are excited to see the G:BOX being used successfully for UV shadowing. The research at the University of Southampton demonstrates that the G:BOX offers an accurate method of detecting oligonucleotides or small sections of DNA without the need to use mutagenic Ethidium bromide, hazardous radiolabels or expensive non-toxic fluorescent dyes.  For scientists with a limited consumables budget or those wanting to extract DNA from their gels, using the G:BOX image analysis system for UV shadowing provides the perfect solution."

For further information please visit www.syngene.com