New Alphaimager® Mini System is a Compact System for Fluorescent Gel

Alpha Innotech Corp, a leading provider of gel imaging systems for life science research, announces the release of a compact imaging system for fluorescent and colorimetric gels, the AlphaImager® Mini. The AlphaImager® Mini is designed to meet the needs and budgets of users who require an economical and compact imaging system with a scientific grade camera for downstream quantitative analysis.

“With the recent announcement from Polaroid that it will no longer be making film for instant cameras, including those used in laboratories for documenting gels, we believe the AlphaImager Mini will provide a great economical alternative for basic gel documentation,” stated Sia Ghazvini, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development. “AlphaImager Mini strengthens our broad gel imaging product portfolio and addresses the burgeoning need for an entry level gel documentation system in rapidly growing markets like Asia and Eastern Europe.”

The AlphaImager Mini’s scientific grade camera offers 1.3 million pixels for superior resolution and dynamic range in addition to a USB 2.0 connection for fast data transfer. A zoom lens offers users the ultimate flexibility and control. The streamlined acquisition software AlphaSnap™ easily navigates users through the process of acquiring an image. AlphaSnap software enables scientists to customize exposure times for their images, print to any digital or Windows compatible printer and save their images in several industry-standard file formats for further downstream processing and analysis.

The launch of the AlphaImager Mini introduces Alpha Innotech’s latest innovation in cabinet design with the Image-250, a compact cabinet that offers a UV-shielded viewport to see samples within the dark enclosure while the UV source is on, a large pull up door for sample access, and compact design requiring less than 11x14 inches of bench space.

"The AlphaImager Mini will address the market need for a scientific grade imaging system that is easy to use, and can be purchased on a reagent budget,” said Lawreen Asuncion, Product Manager at Alpha Innotech. “With its compact size and easy to use image capture software, the AlphaImager Mini is ideal for all labs.”

Applications of the AlphaImager Mini include the wide variety of UV fluorescent labels commonly used in stained DNA and protein gels, such as Ethidium Bromide, SYBR® Green, SYBR® Safe and Hoechst Blue. With the addition of a white light illumination table, the AlphaImager Mini can also image white light applications such as Coomassie and Silver stained protein gels. Images can be printed directly, or exported for analysis into AlphaView™ standalone analysis software (not included).