Adapted liquid crystal display backlighting unit for densitometry of stained polyacrylamide electrophoresis gels

Appropriate monochromatic illumination that is spatially uniform will ensure densitometry of stained polyacrylamide electrophoresis gels with high sensitivity and repeatability. The approach of using an array of LEDs as an illuminator has practical limitations. Here we describe an alternative method based on adapted liquid crystal display backlighting. By changing the fluorescent light source and using a region where light intensity is uniform, we demonstrate the ability to achieve highly sensitive and repeatable densitometry measurements of polyacrylamide electrophoresis gels with Coomassie-stained proteins.