Define liquids and plates

Describe layouts

Dilute

Incubate

Make mixtures

Mix onto

Normalize

Pause and prompt

Select

Synchronize

Learn more

We have massively simplified the way that you define your liquids and plates: use the new Define liquids and plates element to define them in a table, import them from a file, or retrieve them from a previous simulation - all in one place! 🎉

Use the Table Editor to enter information about your liquids in a simple table. Either fill out the table in Synthace, or populate it from a file and edit on the fly.

Alternatively, use the inputs to the element to define a small number of liquids, just like you used to in the old standard element set.

Want to retrieve some plates from another simulation? Choose Previous Simulation to do so and save yourself a lot of time: you don't need to redefine plates that you have already prepared.

Tip: You can use this feature to link the output of one workflow to the input of another, to build up more complex experiments 🧪

You can now specify the regions of your plates to which you want Synthace to allocate specific liquids or groups of liquids!

This gives you much tighter control over your plate layouts.

All of the information about your plate layouts is now packaged up in a single output, which makes it much easier to share plate layout information between elements - its always just one connection away!

To get going, just provide a Plate Set Prefix, choose a Plate Type, then click the Edit Plate Contents button!

Use the new Plate Contents Editor to describe your plate layout preferences.

Choose a plate and select some wells, assign one or more liquids to them, then set the direction that you want Synthace to allocate the liquids.

If you've already defined the liquids in your workflow (or given a group of liquids a tag or two) then just select them from the handy drop-down menus.

The new Dilute element brings together a lot of functionality into one place! Use it to:

Use the new Incubate element to control an integrated incubator from your workflow 👩‍🍳

If you don't have one, don't worry, Synthace will automatically create a pause with a prompt message for you - one that displays everything you need to do to incubate your plates manually!

Just put the element at the end of your workflow....

...or between other elements, wherever and whenever you need to incubate!

Use the new Make mixtures element to prepare PCR master mixes, set up enzymatic reactions, or create tiny, delicious cocktails 🍸

Tip: Don't forget to ask your lab manager first 😉

Synthace can instruct your robot to add liquids to your mixtures by decreasing volume order, a specific order that you define, or you can just let Synthace decide for you!

Define your mixtures by volume or concentration contributions (or both), then sit back and let Synthace take care of the maths 🤓

Use the new Mix onto element to... you guessed it... mix liquids onto other liquids! 🥳

Whether you want to add different samples onto pre-made reactions or feed your cultures with fresh media, this element is incredibly versatile. It has three mixing modes:

Use the new Normalize element to normalize your samples - who'd have guessed?

It does what it says on the tin: choose whether to normalize in place or on a new plate, and by concentration or total volume.

Whatever you choose, Synthace will perform all of the necessary calculations to ensure that your samples end up with the same concentration or total volume 🎉

Use the new Pause and prompt element to pause a workflow, create a prompt with a message, or get it to resume automatically after a certain period.

The message will show on the Preview tab, but also on the computer controlling the device when you run the experiment.

Use the new Select element to select some liquids based on:

You can decide if the liquids should match all or any of the above. For example, you can select all of the liquids that contain the word Sample and have a concentration higher than 200 ng/ul 🥳

If you want to select some liquids based on their name, you can look for an exact match, or just a partial one. For example, if you have Reagent A, Reagent B, Sample A and Sample B, and you select the liquids that contain Sample, you'll get both Sample A and Sample B! These options are available in the Sub-component Name, Tag and Metadata inputs, too!

It is important to control the timing of the actions in your workflows.

To that end, we have introduced the Synchronize element, which gives you greater control over the order in which your liquid handling actions occur.

Use the Synchronize element to ensure that your robot executes all of the steps before a specific point before it executes any steps afterwards.

To learn more about the core elements and how you can use them, we have prepared a set of tutorials (with a few challenges thrown in along the way 😉) to help you get up and running.

Just follow the links from the element descriptions or search for Core Elements Tutorial in the chat interface.