 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Natural Science Forum / Biology / Microbiology / January 2007Advice needed for mutagenic UV lamp
Hi all, We're working up a mutation lab in our Microbiology lab and would like to use UV to induce said mutations. Can anyone please suggest a lamp- make and model number- or at least wavelength and intensity? We'll probably be using E. coli and/or Serratia, and looking at antibiotic resistance and pigmentation, respectively. Thanks, Chris Email responses to: cthompson at bmcc dot cuny dot edu >Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >probably be using E. coli and/or Serratia, and looking at antibiotic >resistance and pigmentation, respectively. You want what is commonly known as a short-UV or "germicidal" lamp. You want 260 nm -- to hit DNA; the lamps actually peak at 254; close enough. A 15 watt lamp is standard. (You do NOT want a "blacklight" or the kinds used to view various biotech gels etc, which are long UV. Of course, using such a lamp as a variation might be of interest.) You should find it listed in any convenient supplies catalog, such as Fisher. But you might also check a hospital supply company. Note that this UV is quite hazardous -- which is why it works. Should be in an enclosed unit, with good protection both from direct viewing and from exposure to reflections. Eye protection -- known to exclude short UV -- is essential. If you do not have such a UV light, it might be an expensive way to go. But you can worry about that later after scoping it out, if you want. You also need to realize that not all organisms are mutable by UV. Common E coli, of course, is. bob > On 25 Jan 2007 10:50:15 -0800, "chris.linthomp...@gmail.com" > [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > bob Thanks, Bob. That is spot on the info I needed. Fisher does indeed have those lamps, but they seem to be higher wattage. They also seem quite large; I think they are for sterilizing work surfaces or even laminar flow hoods. When I was an adjunct at another school they had a tiny UV unit, with the cone of the "lampshade" not much larger than the circle you would form with thumb and forefinger. We would love something like that, since we could just position everything under a cardboard box and turn the lamp on for a few seconds. Back to the catalogs. Thanks again, Chris "chris.linthompson@gmail.com" <chris.linthompson@gmail.com> writes > We're working up a mutation lab in our Microbiology lab and would like > to use UV to induce said mutations. Can anyone please suggest a lamp- > make and model number- or at least wavelength and intensity? We'll > probably be using E. coli and/or Serratia, and looking at antibiotic > resistance and pigmentation, respectively. A convenient form for these short wavelength UV lamps is the DNA crosslinking unit intended for anchoring Southern blotted DNA to hybridization membranes. Stratagene makes such a unit, as do a number of other companies. Check used equipment suppliers -- I think they are quite common on the used market. They are enclosed and are calibrated in their dosage, making the kinds of mutation experiment you're looking at very convenient. For example here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Biotech-Stratagene-Stratalinker-2400-UV-DNA-Crosslinker_W0QQ itemZ150082824348QQihZ005QQcategoryZ26230QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.