The MP Bio Transilluminator offers the researcher uniform and intense sources of ultraviolet light (radiation) in a compact package. The 302nm UV back-illumination provides a highly sensitive method to detect double-stranded nucleic acids that have been labeled with fluorescent dyes such as ethidium bromide or acridine orange. Single stranded nucleic acids may be detected, but with a lower excitation wavelength more sensitive for nucleic acid visualization than the 365nm model.