The most simple DOE workflow you can build is one that specifies the stock liquids you intend to mix together and defines how those liquids will be mixed to make the final mixtures.
There are two main ways to build this type of workflow, dependent on some constraints you may have on the stock liquids you intend to use:
Your stock liquids have fixed starting concentrations, which you can not vary;
Your stock liquids have a maximum concentration limit, but you are happy for that liquid to be diluted further to satisfy your downstream mixture requirements.
If all of your stock liquids have constrained concentrations then your workflow will be simple. However, given the nature of DOE, where the final concentration of a given liquid can vary drastically from mixture to mixture, you can more easily run into the case where the set of stock liquids at their fixed concentrations can not meet the requirements for some of the mixtures.
For example, if you have three liquids each at 10 mM and your DOE design has high and low concentration set points of 1 mM and 5 mM for each of the three liquids, then it is possible for a mixture to try and have all three liquids at 5 mM. This is not possible with the defined stock concentrations, as two of the liquids would already make up the total mixture volume, with no further volume capacity to add the third liquid.
This won’t always be the case, you just need to be thoughtful of your stock concentrations and the target concentrations you want to achieve.
This tutorial will cover scenario 1, to learn about scenario 2 click here.
In this tutorial you will learn:
How to build a simple DOE workflow when your stock liquids have constrained concentrations.
Get started
How to build a DOE workflow
Building the Workflow
Add the Define Liquids and Plates and Make Mixture elements to the workflow builder canvas.
Connect the output Liquids from Define Liquids and Plates to the Liquids To Make Mixtures input of Make Mixtures.
Configure your element parameters
1. Define the stock liquids and their concentrations. Here, Liquids A-D all at a concentration of 10 mM, as well as a diluent, water.
2. Define two mixtures: one with high target concentrations of our stock liquids and one with low concentrations of our stock liquids.
3. Assign Water as the default diluent for all mixtures.
4. Select Let Synthace Optimise in the Replicate Grouping parameter, provide a plate name and select a plate type.
Simulate the workflow
1. Check that the execution mode that you selected can follow the instructions that you prepared by simulating your workflow. To learn how, click here.
Preview the Simulation
1. After you simulate the workflow, click View Simulation to open the simulation details.
2. Open the Preview tab, then click through the steps to check that the instructions that Synthace has generated are as desired.
We hope that this tutorial has been helpful!
To learn how to build a DOE workflow that allows Synthace to calculate your stock liquid concentrations for you, click here.
To learn how to build more complex workflows suitable for DOE, click here.
To learn how to define factors in your workflow and calculate a DOE design, click here.