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iGlow Gel Documentation System: One-touch gel imaging
Simple, reliable gel imaging for everyday lab use
Experience stunning clarity and ease with iGlow Gel Documentation System. Designed for simplicity and efficiency, iGlow Gel Documentation System enables gel electrophoresis imaging with a single touch. Its intuitive touchscreen interface makes capturing, visualizing and saving high-quality, publication-ready protein and nucleic acid gel images quick and easy. Beginner friendly, user-installable and compatible with various gel sizes, this system keeps your workflow clean and connected.
Key benefits
- Simple: Capture high-quality gel images instantly with one touch.
- Flexible: Compatible with protein and nucleic acid gels, and various gel sizes including Invitrogen E-Gel DNA gels, Precast Mini and Midi protein gels, and pour-your-own (PYO) gels.
- Accessible: Beginner friendly and user installable, suitable for everyday gel imaging needs in individual labs.
Why choose the iGlow system?
- Fast and reliable imaging for labs that run gels frequently without added complexity.
- Open system, compatible with a wide range of stains and handcast protein and nucleic acid gels.
- Safer blue-light imaging to protect samples and users while minimizing UV exposure.
- A dedicated gel imager that frees up multi-application instruments, reduces contamination risk and keeps workflows moving.
- Auto-recognized trays to simplify setup and help minimize user error.
See iGlow system in action
Key features
The Invitrogen iGlow Gel Documentation System is a gel electrophoresis imaging system for fast, intuitive capture of protein and nucleic acid gels. It enables one-touch imaging through an integrated touchscreen interface, allowing users to capture, visualize, and save high-quality, publication-ready images.
The iGlow system is suitable for routine gel imaging applications and supports both beginner and experienced users. It includes:
- One-touch gel imaging for simplified operation.
- Intuitive touchscreen interface for image capture and review.
- Automatic tray recognition quickly detects the correct tray and lighting conditions to reduce human errors.
Figure 1. The iGlow system recognizes the tray and only activates the corresponding functions.
- Compatibility with multiple gel sizes and types including E-Gel DNA gels, precast protein gels, and pour-your-own (PYO) gels.
- Access three integrated light sources (UV, blue and white) within a single compact device for versatile gel documentation workflows.
- Perform on-board image editing, allowing you to make immediate adjustments after image capture and quickly export or print for documentation.
Figure 2. The iGlow system includes on-board image editing tools.
- Conduct safe gel excision using blue LED illumination, providing an effective and non-UV alternative for sample handling.
Figure 3. Gel excision using blue light.
- Eliminate warm-up delays and bulb replacements, enabling consistent, reliable light output with all-LED illumination.
- Transfer data with ease using USB or Wi-Fi connectivity.
- Utilize the included Invitrogen iBright Analysis Software for image analysis and data management.
Figure 4. Users can analyze images using iBright Analysis Software (download free with instrument purchase) and export data to generate reports.
What is a gel imager?
Why use a gel electrophoresis imager?
A dedicated gel imaging system helps you:
- Accurately visualize bands across different gel types
- Standardize image capture for reproducibility
- Reduce user variability with automated settings
- Generate shareable and publication-ready data
- Improve lab efficiency compared to manual or improvised imaging methods
Where does gel imaging fit in your workflow?
Gel imaging is a key step in molecular biology and protein biology workflows:
- Sample preparation (DNA, RNA, or protein)
- Nucleic acid or protein gel electrophoresis
- DNA, RNA or protein gel stains (e.g., Coomassie, SYBR dyes, silver stain)
- Imaging (this step)—visualize and document bands
- Analysis (quantification, comparison, reporting)
iGlow system compared to other gel imaging systems
Feature / capability |
iGlow Gel Documentation System |
Other dedicated gel imaging systems |
Ease of use |
One-touch imaging with intuitive touchscreen interface |
Multi-step setup and more complex interfaces |
Light source |
UV, blue and white LED illumination |
UV bulb illumination |
Workflow efficiency |
Fast and easy image capture and data management |
Multistep workflows slow data processing |
Compatibility |
Open system compatible with a wide range of stains and handcast gels |
May be optimized for specific reagents or proprietary formats |
Imaging area |
Large Field of View (FOV) allows up to four mini gels to be imaged at once |
May only allow single gel imaging |
Imaging safety |
Blue-light imaging limits UV exposure and helps protect samples |
Greater reliance on UV illumination in some systems |
Setup and operation |
Auto-recognized trays simplify setup and reduce user error |
Manual configuration may be required |
iGlow system stains and dyes compatibility chart
Application |
Gel stain |
Excitation source |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
UV |
Blue* |
White |
||
Protein |
Coomassie Fluor Orange |
✓ |
||
Flamingo™ |
✓ |
|||
Oriole™ |
✓ |
|||
Pierce Silver Stain |
✓ |
|||
Pro-Q Diamond Phosphoprotein |
✓ |
|||
SimplyBlue SafeStain |
✓ |
|||
SYPRO Ruby |
✓ |
|||
SYPRO Orange |
✓ |
|||
SYPRO Red |
✓ |
|||
SYPRO Tangerine |
✓ |
|||
DNA |
GelRed® |
✓ |
||
GelGreen® |
✓ |
|||
Midori Green |
✓ |
|||
SYBR Gold |
✓ |
|||
SYBR Green |
✓ |
|||
SYBR Safe |
✓ |
|||
UltraPure Ethidium Bromide |
✓ |
|||
*Most blue-light excitable dyes can also be visualized under UV illumination, and many UV-excitable dyes are compatible with blue-light imaging, though signal intensity may vary. Flamingo™ and Oriole™ are trademarks of Bio-Rad. GelRed® and GelGreen® are registered trademarks of Biotium. |
||||
Protein and nucleic acid gel images captured using different excitation light sources on the iGlow™ Gel Documentation System. All images below were processed and saved using iBright Analysis Software.
Protein gel images
Stain used: Pierce Silver stain (Cat. No. 24612)
Light source: white
Stain used: SimplyBlue SafeStain (Cat. No. LC6065)
Light source: white
Stain used: SYPRO Protein Gel Stains – Red (Cat. No. S6653)
Light source: UV
Stain used: Coomassie Fluor Orange (Cat. No. C33250)
Light source: blue
Nucleic acid gel images
Stain used: UltraPure Ethidium Bromide (Cat. No. 15585011)
Light source: UV
Stain used: SYBR Gold Nucleic Acid Gel Stain (Cat. No. S11494)
Light source: blue
Choosing the right gel imaging and documentation system: iGlow vs. iBright instruments
This table summarizes the key distinctions between the iGlow and iBright systems, helping you quickly identify which system best fits your nucleic acid or protein imaging needs based on your workflow and downstream applications.
| iGlow Gel Documentation System | iBright Imaging Systems | |
|---|---|---|
| Product summary | Fast, simple, efficient electrophoresis and imaging of protein and nucleic acid gels; fully integrated for comprehensive analysis | Up to five imaging modes to efficiently and easily capture data from protein gels, nucleic acid gels, chemiluminescent western blots, and fluorescent western blots |
| Western blot | X | ✓ |
| Polyacrylamide gels (colorimetric stains, fluorescent stains) |
✓ | ✓ |
| Ethidium bromide | ✓ | ✓ |
| SYBR dyes | ✓ | ✓ |
| Colony counting | GFP imaging only | ✓ |
| Camera resolution | 5.0 MP | 9.1 MP |
| Field of view | 21 × 14 cm (W × D) | 22.5 × 18.0 cm (W × D) Image up to 4 mini blots or gels |
| Transillumination | UV, blue, and white LED | Green LED |
| Epi-illumination | N/A | White and NIR Epi-LED in select models |
| Auto-exposure | One-touch capture | Smart exposure |
| Auto-focus | ✓ | ✓ |
| Auto-tray recognition | ✓ | X |
| File format | TIFF, JPG, PNG, iba (proprietary) | TIFF, JPG, PNG, G2i (proprietary) |
| Analysis software | iBright Analysis Software | iBright Analysis Software |
| Touch screen | 12.0 in | 12.1 in |
| Sample drawer | Pull-out drawer | Pull-out or motorized sample drawer |
| Computer storage | 400 GB | 256 GB |
| Connectivity | Network & Wi-Fi enabled | Network, cloud & Wi-Fi enabled |
| Footprint (L × W × H) | 38 × 45 × 41 cm | 68 × 38 × 60 cm |
| Weight | 22 kg (48.5 lbs) | 47–50 kg (105–110 lbs) |
| Cost | $ | $$ to $$$ |
| Standard warranty | 2 years from date of purchase | 1–2 years depending on the model, from date of purchase |
Ordering information
Every iGlow Gel Documentation System includes one instrument, one of each tray (UV, blue and white), one UV shield, unlimited software licenses and 2-yr standard warranty from date of purchase.
This product will be available for order in North America starting May 2026, with additional regions and countries following in June 2026. Shipping timelines may vary by region.
Recommended supplies and accessories for the iGlow system
Find what you need to go from your protein or nucleic acid sample to a clean, image-ready gel on the iGlow Gel Documentation System. Here’s our curated selection of Invitrogen and Thermo Scientific gels, stains, buffers, and ladders chosen to support efficient workflows and high-quality protein gel imaging when used with the iGlow system chosen to support efficient workflows and high-quality protein gel imaging when used with the iGlow system including:
Protein gel welcome packs
Our gel electrophoresis welcome packs are a budget-friendly solution containing a gel tank and the precast gels, reagents, and buffers needed to jump-start your experiment. Each pack includes:
- Sample buffer
- Running buffer
- 2 boxes of gels (mini or midi)
- Mini or midi gel tank
- Protein ladder
Precast gels and DIY solutions
Pick and choose from an extensive selection of precast gels and DIY solutions to cast your own gels. Add your favorite protein ladder, gel tank, and touchscreen electrophoresis power supply.
Protein standards and ladders
Equip your lab with our reliable protein ladders to achieve precise protein size determination and clear visualization for your gel electrophoresis needs.
Protein stains and total protein normalization reagents
Confirm the quality of the separation and the transfer efficiency before immunodetection. Choose Invitrogen No-Stain Protein Labeling Reagent to combine rapid, flexible visualization of gels with accurate total protein normalization.
Sample prep reagents
Explore protein extraction, purification, and cleanup reagents compatible with your protein preparation workflow.
Electrophoresis power supplies
Choose from a range of powerful, easy-to-use electrophoresis power supplies.
Nucleic acid gel workflows—your way
The iGlow Gel Documentation System supports both agarose gels prepared in-house (PYO) and E-Gel precast formats.
How-to videos
Get the most out of the iGlow Gel Documentation System with these quick how-to videos.
Frequently asked questions
A gel doc system (gel documentation system) is an imaging device used to capture and analyze gels after electrophoresis. It typically includes a light source, camera, and integrated software for visualization and documentation.
Yes. The iGlow Gel Documentation System supports imaging of both nucleic acid and protein gels when used with appropriate stains and illumination.
The iGlow Gel Documentation System includes UV, blue, and white transilluminating LEDs to support a wide range of gel types and stains.
No. The iGlow system is optimized for nucleic acid and protein gel imaging and does not support membrane-based applications such as western blot imaging.
No. The iGlow system does not support chemiluminescence imaging.
Yes. The system can image up to four mini gels simultaneously, depending on gel size.
The system supports imaging of fluorescently stained DNA and protein gels, as well as colorimetric protein gels.
Yes, No-Stain Reagents can be imaged using blue light illumination.
No, iGlow system does not support activation of Stain-Free gels.
Turn off the device and wipe the screen with a soft, dry microfiber cloth. For stubborn smudges, lightly dampen the cloth with distilled water—never spray liquid directly onto the screen. Avoid alcohol, ammonia, bleach, paper towels, and other abrasive cleaners or materials.
Resources
Product information
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.