EtBr filter for CCD camera?

[Hemant Chickarmane]

In article   writes:
>From: Pavel Sova <ps44 at columbia.edu>
>Subject: EtBr filter for CCD camera?
>
>Hi there,
>we have a neat setup of CCD camera connected to the computer and are 
>taking pictures of anything short of EtBr stained DNA on agarose gels.
>
>When I tried to do this, camera took very high bacground of UV bulbs, 
>even showing some numbers written on bulbs.  I wasn't able to block this 
>background by orange filter, which we routinely use for photography of 
>EtBr stained DNA on agarose gels (on Polaroid films).  Neither UV blocking 
>filter did any difference.
>
>I think that some of the light emitted from UV source is actually of visible 
>blue color, which goes through UV blocking filter and also through orange 
>filter.  Do you have anybody suggestion what filter shoud we use (and it's 
>number)?
>

A simple solution would be to irradiate the gel from the side like so:


                          Camera
                          |||||| 
                                      UV source
                                     ////
                                    ////
                          ======= 
                            Gel

This would eliminate direct UV from getting to the camera.
The standard screw-on orange filter would suffice.

Hope this helps.  Good luck.


-- 
Dr Hemant Chikarmane, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543 USA
           email: hemant at mbl.edu	voice: (508) 289-7245

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