Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40324991›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

GelGenie: an AI-powered framework for gel electrophoresis image analysis.

Matthew Aquilina, Nathan J W Wu, Kiros Kwan, Filip Bušić, James Dodd, Laura Nicolás-Sáenz, Alan O'Callaghan, Peter Bankhead, Katherine E Dunn

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Matthew AquilinaInstitute for Bioengineering, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. matthew_aquilina@dfci.harvard.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4039-1398
Nathan J W WuInstitute for Bioengineering, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2870-5419
Kiros KwanInstitute for Bioengineering, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
Filip BušićInstitute for Bioengineering, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
James DoddInstitute for Bioengineering, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-3701-2024
Laura Nicolás-SáenzCentre for Genomic & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
Alan O'CallaghanCentre for Genomic & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4817-6171
Peter BankheadCentre for Genomic & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4851-8813
Katherine E DunnInstitute for Bioengineering, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. k.dunn@ed.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5068-4354

Funding

Wellcome Trust 223750
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Gel electrophoresis is a ubiquitous laboratory method for the separation and semi-quantitative analysis of biomolecules. However, gel image analysis principles have barely advanced for decades, in stark contrast to other fields where AI has revolutionised data processing. Here, we show that an AI-based system can automatically identify gel bands in seconds for a wide range of experimental conditions, surpassing the capabilities of current software in both ease-of-use and versatility. We use a dataset containing 500+ images of manually-labelled gels to train various U-Nets to accurately identify bands through segmentation, i.e. classifying pixels as 'band' or 'background'. When applied to gel electrophoresis data from other laboratories, our system generates results that quantitatively match those of the original authors. We have publicly released our models through GelGenie, an open-source application that allows users to extract bands from gel images on their own devices, with no expert knowledge or experience required.

Indexed as

Artificial IntelligenceElectrophoresis, Polyacrylamide GelImage Processing, Computer-AssistedAlgorithmsHumansSoftware

Identifiers

PMID40324991
PMCPMC12053679

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.