Time course assay - worked example

This example is designed to run on a 3, 6 or 10 head dragonfly discovery. It shows how to set up a time course assay with a constant start component and a constant stop component across a
partial 384 well plate. Each condition will have 10 replicates.

Due to the timepoints being arranged column by column, dispensing column-wise would be
preferred over row-wise snaking.

Adding the first (start) layer

First, add a new layer for the start component. Click on ‘Add constant layer’.

Set the name of the component and the layer volume. Drag the edges of the dispense area to
define the region as shown. Click 'OK'.

Name the layer and set the dispense pattern to ‘column snaking’.

Adding the second (stop) layer

Add another layer for the stop solution by clicking on ‘Add constant layer’. Then set the
component name, layer volume and drag to create an identical dispense area. Click OK.

Name the layer and set the dispense pattern to ‘column snaking’.

Create and add a timing map

On the stop layer, click on ‘Add Timing Map…’.

Go to the ‘Create’ tab and insert the desired time point:

Set the number of copies (here set point copies to 2):

Apply the timing map only to the area that needs dispensing, by dragging the area to the correct
position.

Then, click OK.

NOTE: all wells that have ‘0’ specified in the timing map, will be dispensed first. Make sure the
dispense area matches the timing map area.

Changing the head assignment

Currently the stop liquid is assigned to the same head as the start liquid. To correct this, go to the
Setup tab on the stop layer and drag the stop solution to head B1.

When the experiment design is correct, export and save the file.