The articles in this section explain how to generate manual instructions for scientists to follow in the lab using hand-held pipettes.
You may want to include manual prompts in your workflow to tell you to perform a specific action to your liquids (e.g. “Vortex your samples for 10 seconds” or “Get your samples out of the freezer and thaw them on ice for a minimum of 20 minutes”). You can use these prompts to annotate your manual instructions and further guide you when you are in the lab.
In the following simple example, you will add a prompt instructing you to vortex your liquid prior to aliquoting it.
Get started
Read the introduction to this series of tutorials, then complete all of the previous tutorials in the series. For more information, click here.
Manual Pause and Prompt instructions
Create a workflow that includes the Pause and Prompt element
Define the liquid required for the aliquot step. For detailed instructions on defining liquids, click here.
Open the Elements menu, search for the element called Define Liquids and Plates, then click the element to add an instance of the element to the canvas.
On the canvas, click the instance of the element to highlight it. This opens the parameters panel.
In the parameters panel, from Define From, select Parameters.
In Liquid Names, define a liquid called “Liquid A”.
Open the Elements menu, search for the Pause and Prompt element, then click the element to add an instance of the element to the canvas.
Connect the Liquids output from Define Liquids and Plates to the Liquids A input of Pause and Prompt.
Click the Pause and Prompt element to highlight it. The parameters panel opens.
Add the following instructions to the Prompt Message input field: “Vortex Liquid A for 10 seconds”
Open the Elements menu, search for the Aliquot element, then click the element to add an instance of the element to the canvas.
Connect the Liquids A output from Pause and Prompt to the Liquids To Aliquot input of Aliquot.
Fill in your aliquot parameter values. In this example, we are performing 8 aliquots of 50ul. For detailed instructions on aliquoting liquids see here.
Simulate the workflow
Specify the input plate type that your Liquid A sample is in (in this example, a 12 well trough), then click Simulate.
Preview the execution
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.
Click Download Instructions, then open the manual instructions that you downloaded.
You will notice that your manual Prompt message has been incorporated into your liquid handling instructions.
Manual Incubate instructions
Create a copy of the Pause and Prompt workflow from the first stage of this tutorial.
Add an instance of the Incubate element to the canvas.
Connect its Aliquots output to the Liquids To Incubate input of the Incubate element.
Fill in your Incubate parameter values (in this example, we have specified 10 minutes at 37℃ shaking at 200 rpm).
Simulate the workflow
Click Simulate.
Preview the execution
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.
Click Download Instructions, then open the manual instructions that you downloaded.
You will notice that your manual Prompt and Incubate messages have been incorporated into your liquid handling instructions.
Manual Wash instructions
Create a copy of the Pause and Prompt workflow from the first stage of this tutorial.
Add an instance of the Wash Plates element to the canvas.
Connect the Aliquots output to the Liquids To Wash input of Wash Plates.
Fill in your Wash Plates parameter values (in this example, we have defined a protocol called Wash Protocol 1 which performs 3 x 200ul washes of the plate).
Simulate the workflow
Click Simulate.
Preview the execution
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.
Click Download Instructions, then open the manual instructions that you downloaded.
You will notice that your manual Prompt and wash messages have been incorporated into your liquid handling instructions.
Manual plate reader instructions
Create a copy of the Pause and Prompt workflow from the first stage of this tutorial.
Add an instance of the Run Plate Reader element to the canvas.
Connect its Aliquots output to the Liquids To Measure input of Run Plate Reader.
Fill in your Run Plate Reader parameter values.
Select which protocol type you want to run, then provide a protocol name.
Simulate the workflow
Click Simulate.
Preview the execution
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.
Click Download Instructions, then open the manual instructions that you downloaded.
You will notice that your manual Prompt and Plate Reader messages have been incorporated into your liquid handling instructions.
Continue to Tutorial 1.5 to learn how to generate manual miniaturised purification instructions.