Hey all! Could use some suggestions. In my lab, we are trying to pipette mix some particularly thick liquids that are also prone to settling. What we have found is that the two “normal” mixing methods that Venus provides are to have the tips stay stationary or to have it move down with the aspirate and up with the dispense. This has proved ineffective, and what I want to do is “inverse mixing,” where the liquid is aspirated from the bottom and then dispensed into the top of the same well. Has anyone attempted this before? Does Venus have functionality for this, or will I have to get creative in order to make it happen? Any advice would be welcome!
just wondering: is your liquid somewhat controlled?
since you do not worry about clots or empty wells/insufficient liquid, different liquid class (viscosity, etc)
You can make this yourself I think.
How about this approach:
- make the tip go X mm above the bottom of the container
- aspirate step 1: aspirate 0 uL, but set mixing volume to Y uL which suits your needs (not too much (air), not too little (ineffective mixing)), and as many cycles as you need
- liquid following off during aspiration
- optional: aspirate step 2: aspirate all (or A uL) (after aspirate step 1), then move tip to Z mm above container, jet dispense empty
optimize further by making your liquid class, alter parameters, like flow rate etc., if possible: make TADM-bands to record, control and evaluate your mixing performance
what do you think?
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If you require the tips to stay submerged in the liquid, I recommend using the STAR Pipetting Tools library. Example below:
Likewise for the individual channels, you would use their respective functions:
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Hey! For what I’m looking for, this is probably my best option. We found that when the tip was removed from the liquid during mixing, it lost “momentum” and was unable to resume at the same rate for several mix cycles. Can you tell me where I can find this library?
It’s part of the STAR Tools Suite, which you can find here.
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Got it. Thank you so much!
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Hey Eric! I’m realizing that the functions in this are specific for a 96-well CORE head. I am using a 384-well CORE head, although I am using rocket tips. Is there a version of this that works for that?
No, those functions are only for the MPH96, not the 384.
Ah, unfortunate. I’ll figure something else out. Thanks!