Latest news from Syngene

DNA/RNA safe dye

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Syngene's new generation UltraSafe Blue™ non-toxic, non-carcinogenic fluorescent dye has been specifically developed as a safer and more sensitive alternative to Ethidium bromide for staining agarose and acrylamide gels.

UltraSafe Blue from Syngene is a new generation of safe fluorescent nucleic acid stain which allows detection of 0.5pg of dsDNA using Syngene’s new UltraSlim-LED blue-light transilluminator.

Additionally, because UltraSafe Blue is a non-intercalating stain there is less effect on the quality of the DNA or RNA. Nucleic acids stained with UltraSafe Blue can be more easily used in downstream experiments such as RT-PCR, enzyme digestion and ligation, thus saving time and effort with multiple purification steps.

UltraSafe Blue is very cost effective, with 1ml of stain being sufficient for up to 10,000 samples and using this dye also means making cost savings for many institutions, as gels do not have to be disposed of as hazardous waste.

Laura Sullivan, Syngene’s Divisional Manager explained: “Ethidium bromide is probably the most well-known dye used for visualising DNA but because it intercalates into the DNA strands it is a potential carcinogen and mutagenic agent, so must be handled with care and usually requires exclusive bench space in order not to contaminate the entire laboratory.”

Laura continued: “We’re very excited to offer scientists our own safe alternative to Ethidium bromide. This new generation dye is less dangerous to work with, doesn’t compromise nucleic acid quality and shows a very good staining performance, making UltraSafe Blue the ideal choice for safety-conscious researchers.”

Blue light transilluminator

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Syngene has introduced the UltraBright-LED transilluminator, a new generation of blue light transilluminator designed for safely imaging fluorescently labelled gels (up to 20cm x 16cm) on the bench or inside Syngene G:BOX imaging systems.

The UltraBright-LED uses two high intensity LED arrays which produce uniform, bright excitation at 470nm, and can illuminate dyes that excite at 420 to 480nm. Therefore, the system is suitable for visualising small amounts of Ethidium Bromide and non-toxic DNA stains including Syngene’s new UltraSafe Blue™ dye, SYBR Safe and GelGreen, as well as protein stains such as SYPRO Ruby and Pro-Q Diamond. Since the UltraBright-LED uses blue light, researchers imaging non-toxic stains can use the system directly on the bench and as it is compact and light weight it takes up very little space and is easy to move.

The UltraBright-LED features a special filter in its lid which enhances band contrast and provides optimum viewing conditions. The transilluminator has been designed to easily slide in and out of any Syngene G:BOX imaging system, making the UltraBright-LED ideal for visualising faint bands, allowing precise band cutting and production of high quality images for analysis and publication.

Laura Sullivan, Syngene’s Divisional Manager stated: “Blue light transilluminators are an alternative to UV when scientists work with non-toxic fluorescent dyes. The advantage of using blue light is that it is a “safe” light source which can be used on the bench, as it is not as harmful as UV and does not photo-nick DNA samples.”

Laura continued, “We are delighted to introduce the UltraBright-LED blue light transilluminator as it complements our UltraSlim-LED transilluminator for use in Syngene’s In:Genius3 and U:Genius3 gel doc systems. The UltraBright-LED transilluminator when used in combination with a G:BOX system, is an excellent tool for researchers looking to generate outstanding gel images without compromising their DNA quality or their safety.”

Imaging chemi blots and gels

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Syngene is delighted to introduce PXi, a new high resolution, multi-application image analysis system. This powerful system is currently the best in its class for scientists that want a compact, one-click method for accurately imaging chemiluminescent and fluorescent blots, as well as 1-D gels (up to 10cm x 12 cm) stained with any type of fluorescent dye.

The innovatively designed compact PXi, with its high resolution 6.3 million pixel camera and large fixed aperture lens can quickly image even the faintest bands. It is easy to fit a range of lighting including IR lighting and filter options inside the PXi system and by using Syngene’s intuitive GeneSys imaging software, the PXi can be rapidly set up to automatically select the best conditions. Scientists can generate perfect images of chemiluminescent blots, as well as 1-D gels (up to 10cm x 12cm) stained with any fluorescence and IR commercial dyes time after time, with just one-click.

GeneTools, Syngene’s accurate image analysis software, which comes with the PXi saves valuable time by automatically producing results in seconds, including; 1-D lane analysis, molecular weight and quantity calculations.

Laura Sullivan, Syngene’s Divisional Manager stated: “Syngene is well known for its imaging innovation and using the technology from our popular G:BOX, we have really pulled out all the stops by developing a unique high performance imaging system. The system is so compact, yet produces exceptional images of every type of chemi blot, as well as fluorescent blots and gels.”

2D gel imaging

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Syngene is delighted to announce its G:BOX imaging system is being used by scientists at a UK university to help visualise protein signals which will detect how cells in the human body react to new drugs.

Scientists at the university are using a high resolution G:BOX system to accurately analyse fluorescent and chemiluminescent proteins on Western blots. The system is also being used to visualise proteins on 1D and 2D protein gels stained with Coomassie blue and agarose gels of DNA stained with Sybr Safe™ and Ethidium bromide. The information from the gels and blots is being used to determine the effectiveness of new therapeutics, which could potentially speed up drug development.

A researcher in the university commented: “We are using DNA-based reporter plasmids to help construct an integrated array of sensors. When a drug excites the sensors a unique protein expression signature pattern is produced and these are being used to compile a reference catalogue of signature patterns. To study this protein expression, we run a large number of 1D and 2D protein gels so we need an easy to use, yet accurate imaging system.”

The researcher added: “We reviewed systems from two other suppliers before we installed our G:BOX in 2008 but we were not able to achieve the level of 2D gel imaging and analysis we wanted with either system. In the time we have been using the G:BOX we have found we can easily view our blots and accurately quantify protein expression, without needing a manual and an hour to get up and running and this has helped us advance our project.”

Laura Sullivan, Syngene’s Divisional Manager, explained: “Thousands of drugs are tested each year but only a fraction are used to treat patients and this is why any new technology to reduce the time and expense of detecting those effective drugs is so important. We are delighted that our imaging system is playing a role in this project because it is proving that for high throughput analysis of 2D gels, a high resolution G:BOX system really does offer exceptional performance.”