What is the Pearl Gel Box?
It is an open hardware gel electrophoresis system based on the Open Gel Box 2.0 project. It is aimed to spur innovation in the area of biotechnology equipment.
How can I get one?
You can buy a Pearl Gel Box from here.
Is it open-source?
Yes. the Pearl Gel Box adheres to Open Gel Box 2.0 RFC1 and the Pearl Gel Box schematics are under Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 licenses. Check out the schematics on the Hardware page.
What should I do if I want to design my own electrophoresis gel box?
Under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license, so you are free to use and adapt them for your own needs without asking permission or paying a fee, as long as you give proper attribution and share-alike.
What should I call my own gel box designs?
Come up with your own name! This will allow people identify you with your products and help you to build a brand. “Pearl Gel Box” and “Open Gel Box”, are trademarks of Pearl Biotech and should not be used for unofficial variants. If you are interested in adding a feature that does not exist in the current hardware, please contact us.
What does Pearl Biotech do?
Gel electrophoresis and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) are the cornerstones of molecular biotechnology. We aim to create professional grade open-hardware licensed scientific equipment starting with an extensible gel electrophoresis box, available as design documents, unassembled, and assembled kits for researchers to obtain and improve upon. We currently develop and distribute a modular, extensible gel electrophoresis box kit that can be singly crafted or mass produced by any entity without royalty, for the purpose of reaching a wider education, healthcare, and scientific audience who are interested in educating themselves about molecular and synthetic biotechnology.
- Open license scientific hardware will bring value to the scientific community by rekindling innovation in basic equipment
- The open hardware license (much like the open source software movement) will allow developers to build from scratch, obtain unassembled kits, or assembled products depending on their interest and financial situation. It will allow the customer to innovate and contribute back to the commons via a creative commons attribution, share-alike license.
- Making molecular biology equipment cheap and widely available to the public will promote awareness, education, and democratized policy making on molecular biotechnology, which our future depends on for food, health care, renewable biofuel and materials.