Hi there! I am wondering if anyone here knows if there is a way to do multi-point mixing in a well without picking up the tip and putting it back into the well every time the position switches. Currently I am doing this with a virtual labware shift between each mix, mixing in the middle, then up down left right. I want to perform something similar but with a 384 well plate, since the wells are a lot smaller I would like the tip to remain in the well for the entirety of the mix
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Hi @leahc and welcome to the forum!
If your pipetting device for this step (sounds like a resuspension) is either the 1mL channels or MPH96, then your best bet would be to use the PipettingTools library of the STAR Tool Suite.
Simply import the pkg, and all libraries of the suite, including PipettingTools will be copied into your VENUS installation. This library is supported on STAR and VANTAGE platforms.
There are functions which allows for custom aspiration and dispense step behavior where the height of the ends of the tips can be specified to your needs:
You will still use labware shifts between target points within the well, but this will give you the control you are seeking.
For MPH96, you can perform mixing by looping consecutive aspiration and dispense steps at each mix point. You just need to specify parameters for liquid following, liquid class, start and end heights, retract distance etc.
Hope this helps!
-Nick
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Thank you so much for the very helpful response, Nick! This worked out great for me.
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Hi Nick! This looks like a very handy library! Does a similar one exist for the MPH384?
Also I think I am unfamiliar with this “virtual labware shift” technique. Is this just changing the position of the labware in the deck layout during the mix step?
I’m having this exact problem right now trying to reduce bubbles while mixing in the corners of our plates.
@NickHealy_Hamilton is there a library available that will let me do this with a Nimbus384?
@cponsi AFIK you need an additional library like PipettingTools mentioned above to reposition labware during mixing. My current solution sounds very similar to what @leahc described in this post - reposition the labware in between steps. This works, but the tips go all the way up and down in between each position.
Here’s my current solution if it helps: I wrote a sub method to reposition labware using the HSLLabwareAccess library shared in this post. I call that in between dispense and aspirate steps and mix using the post-mix and pre-mix options.
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@cponsi - Custom STAR and VANTAGE MPH384 functionality hasn’t currently been added to the Pipetting Tools library of the STAR Tools suite, but we will be sure to update if/when that changes.
@Erik - Regarding NIMBUS 384, unfortunately this specific functionality is not supported on the platform. That said, there are likely alternative measures to eliminate/reduce bubbles through liquid handling and/or liquid class optimizations for the step.
Remote troubleshooting of specific liquid handling situations over the forum isn’t always ideal, but if you provide specifics regarding the mixing step/transfer we can attempt to provide suggestion. Beyond that we can have local support reach out as well.
Thanks.
-Nick
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Hi @Erik ! Thanks for sharing your solution. Does this method prevent it from raising the tip between the mix position shifts?
Hello @Erik, this looks exactly what we are trying to do! However, I’m wondering what did you do to make your BudgeLabware submethod? Would you mind also sharing a screenshot of that?
Thanks in advance!
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I am only speculating, but it appears to use a “MoveSeq”-esque parameter to move the plate small increments in the x-y-z coordinates (units are likely in mm).
Unfortunately no, I have’t been able to get it to keep the tip submerged between the positions.
I thought maybe I could trick it by defining custom “flattened” labware and selecting the Optimize traverse height option on the dispense step. This is supposed to keep the tips at clearance height for traverse, but the tips still go all the way up for me. It seems to ignore this setting, so maybe I’m doing something wrong here?
This is my first time using the PipettingTools library of the STAR Tool Suite but it appears that I am missing a file. I reinstalled the library using recovery mode but to avail.
2024-06-26 11:05:20> SYSTEM : Analyze method - start; Method file C:\Program Files (x86)\HAMILTON\Methods\miniprotein_production\other_protocols\playground.hsl
2024-06-26 11:05:29> Microlab® STARplus : Communication - progress; Connection to instrument is created.
2024-06-26 11:05:30> SYSTEM : Analyze method - progress; C:\Program Files (x86)\HAMILTON\Library\STAR Tools\STAR Pipetting Tools.hsi(25) : error 1312: cannot open include file: 'LiquidClassLibrary\LiquidClassLibrary.hsl'
2024-06-26 11:05:30> SYSTEM : Analyze method - progress; C:\Program Files (x86)\HAMILTON\Library\STAR Tools\STAR Pipetting Tools.hsi(2960) : error 1302: 'LiquidClassLibrary::GetCorrectionCurve' undeclared identifier
2024-06-26 11:05:30> SYSTEM : Analyze method - progress; C:\Program Files (x86)\HAMILTON\Library\STAR Tools\STAR Pipetting Tools.hsi(2966) : error 1302: 'LiquidClassLibrary::GetLiquidType' undeclared identifier
2024-06-26 11:05:30> SYSTEM : Analyze method - progress; C:\Program Files (x86)\HAMILTON\Library\STAR Tools\STAR Pipetting Tools.hsi(2969) : error 1302: 'LiquidClassLibrary::GetLiquidClassTipType' undeclared identifier
2024-06-26 11:05:30> SYSTEM : Analyze method - progress; C:\Program Files (x86)\HAMILTON\Library\STAR Tools\STAR Pipetting Tools.hsi(2972) : error 1302: 'LiquidClassLibrary::GetLiquidClassDispenseMode' undeclared identifier
2024-06-26 11:05:30> SYSTEM : Analyze method - progress; C:\Program Files (x86)\HAMILTON\Library\STAR Tools\STAR Pipetting Tools.hsi(2991) : error 1302: 'LiquidClassLibrary::GetLiquidClassAspirateParameters' undeclared identifier
2024-06-26 11:05:30> SYSTEM : Analyze method - progress; C:\Program Files (x86)\HAMILTON\Library\STAR Tools\STAR Pipetting Tools.hsi(2999) : error 1302: 'LiquidClassLibrary::GetLiquidClassDispenseParameters' undeclared identifier
2024-06-26 11:05:30> SYSTEM : Analyze method - progress; C:\Program Files (x86)\HAMILTON\Library\STAR Tools\STAR Pipetting Tools.hsi(14762) : error 1302: 'LiquidClassLibrary::SetTadmMode' undeclared identifier
2024-06-26 11:05:30> SYSTEM : Analyze method - progress; C:\Program Files (x86)\HAMILTON\Library\STAR Tools\STAR Pipetting Tools.hsi(14773) : error 1302: 'LiquidClassLibrary::SetTadmMode' undeclared identifier
2024-06-26 11:05:30> SYSTEM : Analyze method - progress; C:\Program Files (x86)\HAMILTON\Library\STAR Tools\STAR Pipetting Tools.hsi(14791) : error 1302: 'LiquidClassLibrary::GetTadmMode' undeclared identifier
2024-06-26 11:05:30> SYSTEM : Analyze method - error; An error occurred while running Vector. The error description is: Method contains syntax errors (0x23 - 0x2 - 0x35) ,
2024-06-26 11:05:30> SYSTEM : Analyze method - complete with error;
Any help is appreciated 
Nat
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I know I’m hijacking this thread, but there are so many instances of people going “I haven’t got X library, I haven’t got Y library”, that it shows how much Hamilton needs a centralised, versioned package-manager-like place to keep all of these. Like NPM or PyPi.
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100%, quickly available venus libraries would save us weeks of integration time
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@EricSindelar_Hamilton @AlvaroCuevas_Hamilton : Hello Both,
Here is the reason. can we create the centralize library or put in the folder here?
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The liquid class library is posted in the Hamilton Libraries subfolder in the Lab Automation Forum folders we set up early on. We try to populate it with all the latest formally released and useful libraries. That being said, there are many custom libraries that have been developed over time - some that may have redundant functions so we’ve tried to curate so as to avoid confusion and/or outdated or untested libraries. If there is a specific need though, we will share!
So that is what we have now, but I completely agree with @Gareth’s recommendation and have provided the feedback internally to our product management and marketing groups.
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Currently I have a solution of beads on deck that precipiate quite easy to form clumps. Since I have some incubations in between and thus a idle system. I take up the tips intended for transport the beads (MPH position) and execute 3-6 loops over the sequence. Each loop mixing at a different depth. The depth is calculated as 10 (The minimum liquid height where the tips are submerged) - loopcounter. That way the MPH mixes at several heights and I have no foam due to air in the reservoir.
It’s on a MagEx STAR running a custom Omega method
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