bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.26.062604; this version posted April 28, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. A low-cost smart system for electrophoresis-based nucleic acids detection at the visible spectrum Eduardo Nogueira Cunha1,4,5, Maria Fernanda Bezerra de Souza2,3, Daniel Carlos Ferreira Lanza*1,2,3, João Paulo Matos Santos Lima*1,2,4,5,6. 1Programa de Pós-graduação em Bioinformática (PPg-Bioinfo), Instituto Metrópole Digital (IMD), Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). 2Programa de Pós-graduação em Bioquímica, Centro de Biociências, UFRN. 3Laboratório de Biologia Molecular Aplicada (LAPLIC), Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Biociências, UFRN. 4Laboratório de Sistemas Metabólicos e Bioinformática (LASIS), Departamento de Bioquímica, Centro de Biociências, UFRN. 5Instituto de Medicina Tropical do Rio Grande do Norte (IMT-RN), UFRN. 6Bioinformatics Multidisciplinary Environment (BioME), IMD, UFRN. * These authors equally contributed to the present study. Corresponding author: João Paulo M S Lima E-mail:
[email protected] ABSTRACT Nucleic acid detection by electrophoresis is still a quick and accessible technique for many diagnosis methods, primarily at research laboratories or at the point of care units. Standard protocols detect DNA/RNA molecules through specific bound chemical dyes using a UV- transilluminator or UV-photo documentation system. However, the acquisition costs and availability of these devices, mainly the ones with photography and internet connection capabilities, can be prohibitive, especially in developing countries public health units.