Protein Visualization after Western Blot and SDS-PAGE

Wu et al. (2013) studied the effect of astaxanthin on D-galactose-induced aging in rodents. The researchers performed a protein carbonylation assay using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), developed the resulting blots, and visualized them using an automatic gel imaging system. The samples were subjected to Western blot analysis; target proteins were detected and then visualized using the gel documentation system. 

Post-Western Blot Protein Visualization for studying the effect of maslinic acid in the organs of diabetic rats

Mkhwanazi et al. (2014) studied the antioxidant effects of maslinic acid (MA) on the heart, liver, and kidneys of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The experimenters analyzed kidney tissues GLUT1, GLUT2, and GLUT4 via western blot and then visualized the protein blots using the gel documentation system. They concluded that the antioxidant properties of MA could improve kidney function in diabetes mellitus patients. 

Analyzing the size of PCR products

Mahajan et al. (2011) evaluated the efficacy of PCR-RFLP for analyzing the 12S rRNA gene in identifying meat samples from known and unknown meat samples and utilized these meat samples to confirm the species of origin of meat. The scientists amplified the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene using PCR and analyzed the size of the PCR product by agarose gel electrophoresis using 1.5% agarose gel stained with Ethidium Bromide. A 100bp DNA ladder was electrophoresed to assess the product’s size. An automatic gel imaging system was used to visualize the gel, and the amplicon’s size was measured using software with a gel imager. 

Then the researchers subjected PCR products to restriction digestion and electrophoresed the restriction enzyme digests using 3% agarose gel stained with EtBr. The gel was again visualized using an automatic gel imaging system, and the size of fragments was determined using the software with Gel-Doc.

Measuring Feather Growth Bars 

Shawkey et al. (2003) compared the traditional method for measuring feather growth bars with the gel documentation system. The automatic gel imaging system consisted of a light cabinet with white lights on the left and the uppermost side, a close-up 12dioptre lens with an interference filter, and a high-performance CCD camera with a 12.5x75mm zoom lens, and a computer with relevant software. The scientists adjusted camera magnification and captured the image. They used the ruler function in the software to measure the distance between two points. The researchers measured growth bars using proper light and digital ruler adjustments. The researchers concluded that the gel documentation system could quickly take repeatable measurements of the growth bars compared to the traditional method.