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Define liquids

Dilute your liquids

Simulate the workflow

Preview the execution

Optional parameters for dilute

Check your work

Challenges

Read the introduction to this series of tutorials, then complete all of the previous tutorials in the series. For more information, click here.

Create a workflow in the builder. To learn how, click here.

Rename the workflow Core elements tutorial 3.2. To learn how, click here.

Select the device on which you want to run your workflow. To learn how, click here.

Select a default plate type. To learn how, click here.

First, you must define the liquids required for the dilution process. These are the liquids you intend to dilute and a diluent. For detailed instructions on defining liquids see here.

Open the Elements menu and search for the element called Define Liquids And Plates and click on the element tile to add an instance of this element to your canvas.

Click on the element to highlight it. This will open the parameters panel for this specific element instance.

In the Parameters panel select Table Editor in the Define From parameter.

Click on Add Spreadsheet to open the table editor.

You can define liquids by filling in the table. Here we have defined three liquids with Liquid Names, Concentrations, Concentration Units. Each liquid has been tagged with the Tag Standard. Once you have defined the liquids, click Done in the bottom right-hand corner.

For clarity re-name the Define Liquids and Plates element to Define Standards in the Instance Name field.

In this workflow, the volume and plate type are not in the liquid definition and will be automatically assigned. The plate type will be selected from the plated defined in the workflow settings - input plate type. The volume of liquid will be calculated based on the workflow requirements.

Repeat this process to define the liquid you intend to use as a diluent.

Rename the second instance of the Define Liquids and Plates to Define Diluent.

Add the Dilute element to the workflow builder from the Elements menu.

Click on the Dilute element to display the element parameters for this instance.

Under Global Options specify the Dilution Location as New Plate.

Set the Dilution Mode to Serial.

Set Describe Dilutions to By Concentration.

Connect the Liquids output from Define Substrates to Liquids to Dilute.

Connect the Liquids output from Define Diluent to Diluent.

You will now see the parameters in the element have been filled with links to data contained in the two Define elements.

Specify the Diluent To Use Per Liquid parameter. In this case, we want to use the water we defined in Define Diluent for all our substrates.

Note: Rather than specifying Water and the diluent for all 3 substrates, use default to apply the same diluent to all our Liquids to Dilute.

Note: if you wish to override the liquid policy of the diluted liquids you can do so here:

Define the Target Final Volume, Maximum Concentration and Minimum Concentration.

Note: Here we have chosen to switch off the toggle switch to Keep Intermediate Volumes Constant. If this was switched on then the final volume of each of the intermediates in our dilution series would be 100 ul.

Define the Dilution Number and number of Replicates for the dilution series.

Select Let Synthace Optimize from the dropdown menu for Layout and Replicate Grouping. Define a Plate Set Name. This can be any alphanumeric name such as dilution_plate.

Select a Plate Type from your plate library. Take care to ensure the plate type you select can accommodate the target volume for your dilution.

Check that the device that you selected can follow the instructions that you prepared. To learn how, click here.

After you simulate the workflow, click View Simulation to open the simulation details.

Open the Preview tab, then click through the steps to check that the instructions that Synthace has generated are correct.

You will see an input plate containing your defined samples and well containing the volume of diluent required to perform the serial dilutions. The neat samples and diluent are then added to the output plate. Each sample is then serially diluted to the calculated concentrations as required to perform the defined number of dilutions between the minimum and maximum concentration ranges specified in the workflow.

In addition to performing the specified dilution series into the new plate Synthace can add the undiluted starting liquid and the diluent to the new plate. This behaviour is controlled with the Include Source Liquids and Include Zero Concentration toggles.