Run The Liquid Transfer Protocol; Prepare The Microplates - Labcyte Echo 520 User Manual

4.4

Run the liquid transfer protocol

Before running the liquid transfer protocol, you will need to prepare the
compound to be transferred and set up the microplates.

4.4.1 Prepare the microplates

Prepare the microplates as follows:
1. Prepare the source microplates. Consider the following factors:
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Fluid height for a given fluid volume can vary, depending on the
surface interaction of the fluid with the well walls.
Fluids that cling to microplate plastics will form steep menisci,
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pulling fluid away from the center of the wells, causing lower fluid
height.
Fluids that interact less with the well walls will form shallow
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menisci, leaving more fluid in the center and greater fluid height.
Fluids that contain higher concentrations of protein, or higher
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concentrations of detergents, may also form steeper menisci.
Since there is a wide variety of fluid compositions, you may find
that the Echo liquid handler reads a different volume
Bubbles in the fluid prevent the formation of a fluid meniscus. For
optimal results, remove any bubbles in the wells and check for well-
defined menisci.
Note: Spinning down the microplate can remove bubbles and even
out variations in menisci. Use 1000 x g for DMSO samples; 3000 x g
for aqueous samples.
If the source microplates were made earlier and stored refrigerated or
frozen, allow them to equilibrate or thaw to room temperature.
Aqueous solutions evaporate quickly at low volumes. For longer runs,
fill wells to the maximum volume specified for the source plate type
used. Volume ranges may differ for different aqueous solutions as
well as aqueous vs. DMSO-based solutions.
DMSO at 100% absorbs water rapidly from the atmosphere and can
increase the final volume of the compound in the source microplate,
which might exceed the maximum volume allowed by the Echo liquid
handler. Fill plates below the maximum volume to account for
hydration. This may be dependent on your laboratory conditions and
frequency of source plate use.
Manual Operation 4-13