Traditional methods involve the use of EtBr/UV light to view gel. These traditional methods have been replaced with safer dyes and imagers like SMOBIO’s B-BOX™ blue light epi-illuminator. Using SMOBIO’s B-BOX™ / SMOBIO fluorescent dye (DS1000, NS1000, DL5000) you can improve your cloning efficiency up to 100 times. It is user friendly and easy to operate. Furthermore, blue light is safer for users in comparison to the use of UV light. 

B-BOX™ can last up to five years under regular use. The lamp life of the LED bulb is approximately 50,000 hours. 

Yes, you can view EtBr stained gel with B-BOX™ and results will appear red in color. However, you will experience reduced sensitivity because EtBr’s optimal wavelength of excitation lies in the range of UV light. 

For the purpose of taking pictures, the whole device of B-BOX™ epi-illuminator can be directly placed inside a conventional UV gel imaging system. If the B-BOX™ acrylic sheet filter is placed, the filter of the imaging system can be removed. However, we suggest to use general digital camera or smart phone for convenient and efficient imaging.

Yes, B-BOX™ can be used without the use of a power supply cord when you purchase a specialized battery box that uses AA batteries.

We recommend using 8 pieces of 1.2 V NiMH rechargeable batteries. It is also possible to use alkaline batteries which can last up to 24 hours under continuous operation. Using B-BOX™ for 8 minutes per day will give you the equivalent of 6 months of battery use.