( Introduction ...)Serial Dilution with the Bravo Liquid Handling Platform

Introduction
Many laboratory protocols require the serial dilution of reagents or compounds. IC₅₀ assays are commonly used to evaluate drug efficacy, and assay development procedures as well as standard curve generation involve the serial dilution of proteins, compounds, or other detection agents. These processes can be streamlined with automated liquid handling equipment with serial dilution capabilities.

Velocity11s Bravo Liquid Handling Platform can be utilized to perform serial dilutions. It has nine standard deck positions that can hold any SBSstandard microplate. These deck positions can also be configured for heating, cooling, shaking, and tip washing. The design of the head, along with various tip and head options, allow serial dilutions to be performed by column or row, from 300 nL to 200 μL dilutions.

Operators can easily write protocols with the included VWorks4 software package. One key feature is the Serial Dilution Wizard. The Serial Dilution Wizard lets the operator easily program the instrument for making serial dilutions. The wizard walks the operator through the steps of a serial dilution task: tip changes, mix parameters, and volume transfers. The operator can either determine the transfer based on initial volumes (transfer by volume) or by a concentration gradient (transfer by concentration).

This technical note explores the parameters that lead to an efficient, precise, and accurate serial dilution protocol. The goal was to produce good precision and accuracy for each dilution in the least amount of time. The mix parameters are essential for a robust serial dilution task. The parameters explored include:
The Number of mix cycles
Mix height
Liquid class settings
Tip retraction/extension

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