A Guide to CCD Camera Parameters: Applications for Gel and Membrane Imaging

Whether you’re investing in your first digital imaging system for gel and membrane imaging, upgrading existing equipment, or just going with what’s already installed in your laboratory, you’ll need to understand key technical specifications to get the most out of your imager. Camera resolution and bit depth, such as 8, 10, 12, 14 or 16 bit, are commonly considered factors that influence the linear dynamic range and quality of digital images. However, lesser-known factors can also significantly contribute to the real data dynamic range and image quality obtained by a digital imaging system.

ProteinSimple (formerly Alpha Innotech and Cell Biosciences) has been developing and innovating charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging systems for over 20 years, and our in-house team in CCD technology has an expert understanding of the gel-, plate- and membrane-based biological assays for which imaging products are used.

In this technical note, we discuss the features and terminology of CCD technology relevant to biological imaging, enabling you to understand how the components of the entire system can contribute to performance.