Short DNA probes, for example, those used in characterizing protein-DNA complexes, have historically been radiolabeled with 32P to allow their detection and quantitation following native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). For reasons of economy or safety, alternative means of DNA detection need to be used. Described here is the resolution of 5' IRD700 and IRD800 end-labeled DNAs by native PAGE and their visualization and quantitation by IR fluorescence imaging.