Alpha Innotech Launches the FluorChem^® Q Imaging System for Quantitative Western Blot Imaging and Analysis

Alpha Innotech, a leading provider of innovative bioimaging solutions for the life science research market, announced today that it has launched the FluorChem^® Q, a breakthrough CCD-based imaging system that rivals laser-based scanners for quantitative Western blot imaging. The FluorChem^® Q addresses the market need for a platform that can detect both chemiluminescent and fluorescent Western blots and provide quantitative, accurate results.

The ability to quantify both multiplex fluorescent Westerns and chemiluminescent blots with sensitivity and accuracy is essential for a wide variety of current proteomic research applications. Proteomic researchers use Western blot analysis to detect the expression level of a single protein within the complex mixture of proteins present in each cell. Historically the most common detection method for Western blots has been chemiluminescence, well known for its sensitivity. However, fluorescent Western blotting, the new standard, can detect multiple proteins in a single assay. This technique uses fluorescent dyes with various spectral properties to probe for specific proteins on a blot. The resulting image allows each protein to be resolved in a separate color channel. The unparalleled flexibility of FluorChem^® Q allows the scientist to capture quantitative images of both fluorescent and chemiluminescent Western blots.

Designed for high performance, FluorChem^® Q includes three standard epi-illumination channels for full compatibility with Cy dyes and other Western kits. A high-resolution camera and fast-lens technology captures images of chemiluminescent Westerns at the same speed you expect from film, but with a linear dynamic range that outperforms film. The FluorChem Q is calibrated to provide data with < 5% variation across the field of view.

The system also comes standard with AlphaView^® Q, a highly intuitive system software that automatically stores all experimental imaging protocols, as well as channel and filter settings, with one-click imaging. The software features a unique tool for automatic loading control normalization on multichannel images. It also permits researchers to save their analysis protocols, thus reducing inter-sample analysis inaccuracies.

“The FluorChem^® Q is aimed at the scientist for whom quantitation and data reliability is key,” according to Sia Ghazvini, Vice President for Marketing and Business Development at Alpha Innotech. “For research that requires either fluorescent or chemiluminescent imaging, this instrument is unparalleled,” he added.