The Logger Pro Gel
Analysis feature calculates the number of base pairs of various
molecules based on the distance traveled during electrophoresis.
Setup for Gel Analysis
Select Gel Analysis from the Insert menu of the
program, and select either Take Photo or From File. Take Photo is a
live method of capturing your gel
results using a ProScope, Logitech, or other digital camera. Choose
From File to select a gel photograph stored in your computer.
Analyzing
the Gel Photograph
1 |
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Click on the Set Origin button and position your cursor to the
left
of the first well and click. A yellow origin
will
appear where vertical and horizontal lines intersect. Drag
the origin up or down to position the horizontal line
in the middle of all the wells. Use the
dot on the horizontal line to rotate, if needed. |
2 |
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If your photo includes a
reference to distance such as a ruler, click on the Set Scale button. This step is
optional. If it is skipped, distances will be reported in pixels. Use
your cursor to draw a line of known distance on the photo. A window
will appear allowing you to input the distance of the line you draw. |
3 |
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Click on the Set Standard Ladder
button. Click on the center of the first band of the Standard Ladder in
the photo. Enter the number of base pairs in the window that appears.
Click on the next band and repeat for all bands in the standard ladder. |
4 |
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Once the Standard Ladder
has been set, click on the Add Lane
button and on the Add Lane option. Click on the center of
the first band of the first experimental lane. The number of base pairs
will be calculated and entered in the data table and on the graph.
Click on each of the remaining bands in this lane. |
5 |
To register the bands of the next lane, click on the Add Lane button and on the Add Lane option that appears. Repeat procedure employed in step 4. This sequence is repeated for each additional lane being added to your analysis of this gel photograph. | |
Analysis of your gel is complete. Note: Logger Pro will automatically name the first experimental lane "Lane 2." If you wish to change the name, you can do so by double-clicking on the data set name in the data set table and typing in the new name. |
The
graph depicts the Standard Curve and the large point circles used to
establish
the curve. The
solid circles represent the standard ladder while the other symbols
indicate the different experimental bands. The graph is scaled to show
millimeters (mm) migrated on the horizontal
axis and number of base pairs along the vertical logarithmic axis.