Helping to make DNA electrophoresis procedures safer, more convenient and more economical are the fundamental principles behind the development of the 'Safe' Series of products from CLEAVER SCIENTIFIC (CSL).

Laboratories around the world will acknowledge that there are two main hazards with traditional DNA gel electrophoresis. For example, the stain most commonly used is Ethidium Bromide which is a mutagen and carcinogen, whilst the illumination source most often used is Ultra Violet, which can cause eye and skin damage. Furthermore, traditional DNA electrophoresis is usually performed without the researcher knowing much about what is happening on the gel unit until is stopped and checked.

This is essentially a 'blind, stop and start' process where the electrophoresis run is stopped at the time the researcher thinks that the samples have separated out enough. The gel is then taken to another room for checking and photographing and if the samples have not run enough, the gel is taken back to the tank and the time consuming process is repeated. If the samples have run too far the situation is worse because an entire new gel must be cast and run.

The 'Safe' Series offers a safer and more user-friendly alternative to traditional methods as it eliminates the need for Ethidium Bromide and the need for ultra violet light, without compromising the results of electrophoresis procedures.

The 'Safe' Series comprises runSafe, a completely safe stain for DNA and runView, a gel electrophoresis system that utilises safe blue light and finally runDoc, a bench top gel documentation system which sits above the gel tank and enables multiple real-time images of the process to be taken.

With runView and runSafe, the separation of the DNA bands can be viewed in real-time, allowing the researcher to have complete control of the time of the electrophoresis run to achieve exactly the separation required.

In summary, the runView, runSafe and runDoc system provides a safe, economic, convenient and easy-to-use integrated solution for DNA electrophoresis covering each stage of the process. It enables casting, loading, running, staining, viewing and documentation of DNA and RNA gels in a completely safe environment which requires no additional equipment, space or dark room.