Autofluor represents the first water soluble scintillation phosphor to be developed and applied directly for use as an autoradiographic image intensifier. Autofluor contains no dimethylsulfoxide or acidic aromatic solvents. In addition to improved safety, the band distortion that is associated with using nonaqueous enhancers is also eliminated.

In the figure at right, the gel on the left (7%, 1mm) was dehydrated in DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide) for one hour, then impregnated in PPO-DMSO for one hour and precipitated and dried. The right gel was impregnated with Autofluor for one hour and dried. Both gels were exposed for 24 hours at -76°C on Kodak XR-5 X-OMat film. The single tritiated band contains 5000 dpm. Note the higher degree of resolution and band discrimination with Autofluor vs PPO-DMSO.

In an independent test comparing eight different fluorographic methods for the detection of 35S-labeled proteins in polyacrylamide gels, Autofluor was the most effective. With Autofluor, the dpm/mm2 required to half-saturate the x-ray film was 1/8 that required by autoradiography alone.