NIH Image and electrophoretic gel analysis

[mcalexp]

Hello everyone,

         I am new to using NIH Image so this might
 be a silly question. I want to use Image to
 quantify the amount of DNA in some samples.  I
 fit the calibration data to a Rodbard-type curve
 and then use the gelplot macro to mark the lanes
 and obtain areas for the bands of interest.  Is
 there a way for NIH Image to convert these areas
 to the units used for calibration (e.g., ng DNA)
 or are the gelplot macros used only for
 determining ratios?  Is there a macro that would
 let you calibrate using the areas (instead of the
 8-bit gray-scale values) under the peaks of the
 bands used for calibration?  Is it accurate enough
 to use the gray-scale value (instead of the area)
 of the band in question along with the calibration
 curve to determine the amount of DNA (or whatever
 else one is trying to quantify)?

         Any help would be appreciated.  Thank you
 all for your time.

 Sincerely,
 Alex



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