Use Layout Settings to configure how wells on the plate are read (Figure 7-6).
Settings include configuring well types and locations, replicates, and the layout of well identifiers on the plate.
To configure labware layout settings:
1. To import a plate layout from an existing protocol, click Import Layout
and select the desired protocol from the list that appears. Only protocols with compatible plate layouts are listed.
OR
To create a new or edit an existing plate layout, select the desired wells to label. To select:
all wells on the plate: click the small button in the upper left corner of the plate layout display (Figure 7-6).
all wells in a single column or row: click the desired column or row header. Multiple columns or rows may be selected by holding down the CTRL key while selecting each header desired.
individual wells: click on the desired well. Multiple wells may be selected by holding down the CTRL key while clicking on each well desired.
groups of wells: click and drag over the desired group of wells. Multiple groups may be selected by holding down the CTRL key while dragging over each desired group.
Figure 7-6Configuring Layout Settings
Note:If the labware is not optimized a Warning dialog appears. To continue without optimizing the labware click Yes. To optimize the labware, click No and then Cancel to exit the Create Protocol Wizard and optimize the labware first. See Optimizing Labware on page 137. Labware optimization can be done after the protocol is created. The protocol always uses the active labware lot.
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2. In Index, select the initial label number for the sequence of selected wells.
3. In Filling, select the desired direction for labeling the selected wells:
Vertical: labels wells column by column.
Horizontal: labels wells row by row.
4. In Flow, select how the index is applied to wells in the selection.
Constant: all well identifiers in the selection are assigned the current index number.
Incremental: increases each well identifier in the selection by one.
5. In Replicates, select the number of replicates for each sample and the layout orientation on the plate:
Vertical: replicates are arranged vertically in columns.
Horizontal: replicates are arranged horizontally in rows.
6. Select the type of wells to add to the plate layout from the Type field and clicking Fill or by right-clicking on a selected well:
Standard: a well with a known concentration used to develop or correct a standard curve. Up to twelve standards may be configured on a plate.
Control: a well with a known, expected signal used to verify the results of the plate.
Positive Control: a control well in which a known amount of target reagent generates a signal to verify positive results measured in sample wells.
• Negative Control: a control well lacking the target reagent that generates little to no signal; verifies negative results measured in sample wells.
Sample: a well containing a sample to measure.
Blank: a well filled with reagents but no reacting sample. Blank wells are used to measure background noise. When blanks are configured, background correction is automatically applied to measurement results.
Empty: a well that is left empty.
Advanced Controls (Blue/Green/Red): For use with wells of a known, expected color signal to verify the results of the plate.
7. If configuring Blank wells, select the type of Blank Validity desired:
Plate, Row, or Column. The mean value of all blank wells in the selected validity option is subtracted from sample wells to provide background correction.
8. If necessary, click Delete to delete existing labels from the selected wells.
9. Repeat steps 1 through 8 to define additional well selections, as desired.
10.Configure Dilution Factors, if desired. See Configuring Dilution Factors on page 154.
Note:Replicate parameters are available for configuration only when
Incremental Flow is selected.
Note:By choosing Blank, Blank Validity replaces Filling, Flow, and
Multi-Mode Analysis Software User Guide
11.Select the desired reading direction using the Direction menu:
Read by row reads plates row-by-row.
Read by column reads plates column-by-column.
Read by well reads each well individually before reading the next well, which is useful for short-interval kinetic, area scan, and wavelength scan measurements.
12.To use a multi-plate layout, using the Multi Layout menu select Yes. To view the multiplate layout click View. A multi-plate layout places all the controls on the first plate and the following plates only have samples. The number of plates in a multi-plate layout is specified when the protocol is run, see Running a Protocol on an Instrument on page 197.
13.Click Print Options and select which information about plate layouts will display in printed reports.
Print all Wells in List Format: Well label identifiers will display in a list.
Print all Wells in Layout Format: Well label identifiers appear in a layout.
Note:If adding a wavelength scan to the protocol, the reading direction must be set to well mode.
Note:In a multi-plate layout the multiple plates are treated like one large plate. All controls are on the first plate and the following plates only have samples. The limit for a multi-plate layout is 100 plates.
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