Azure BiosystemsPhosphor imaging is a method to detect radioactive material in applications such as Northern, Southern, or Western blotting, or in radiolabeled tissue sections. It has many benefits over autoradiography to detect radio labels using x-ray film, including increased sensitivity, shorter exposure times, and a greater dynamic range than is possible with film.
In phosphor imaging, a storage phosphor screen captures the energy from the radioactive material. The storage screen contains a thin layer of crystals that absorb and store energy emitted by radioactive material. The storage screen is exposed to a radioactive sample, such as a blot or tissue section.
After the exposure, the screen is imaged by scanning with a laser (Figure 1). The laser converts the stored energy to visible light which can be captured using a digital imaging system. The emitted light is proportional to the amount of radioactivity present in the original sample, making phosphor imaging excellent for quantitative comparisons. The figures below demonstrate the linearity and wide dynamic range possible with phosphor imaging.
While fluorescent and chemiluminescent imaging techniques and their detectors are becoming more sensitive and selective, photostimulated luminescence from phosphor storage plates remains a key application for many researchers, especially for applications such as electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA), enzyme assays, and in-vivo imaging.
The phosphor screen can be erased by exposure to white light and re-used.
Should you find yourself in search of a system capable of phosphor imaging, there are several phosphor imagers on the market. The new Azure Sapphire FL Biomolecular Imager is a fluorescent imaging system that includes phosphor imaging among its available imaging modalities. Azure also provides an imaging plate eraser to ensure quick, complete erasure of imaging screens to maximize data and image quality.
Traditional phosphor imagers are often single function and require a large footprint. The new Azure Sapphire FL offers the ability to scan storage phosphor screens for filmless autoradiography, with exceptional dynamic range and image quality thanks to the use of laser excitation and photon multiplier tube (PMT) detection. The Sapphire FL also incorporates exceptional visible fluorescent and near infra-red scanning along with true chemiluminescent and white light imaging making it a true lab workhorse.
Scans storage phosphor screens for filmless autoradiography, with exceptional dynamic range and image quality
Makes erasing storage phosphor screens easy
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