Nth Plate to perform special process

The Nth Plate feature is only available when using the BioStack. And, the Nth Plate step must be put inside a Use BioStack step container.

To precisely time the events in a BioStack run, also consider the Delay option, Timer Activated Delay.

About the Nth Plate

Read About the Nth Plate step, if you haven't already done so. See Also: Advanced Plate Sequencing with the BioStack for more details and to see examples.

How to define the Nth Plate Steps

• Remember to consider the placement of the Nth Plate block in relation to non-special steps. When you want a special function to occur after a certain number of plates have been processed, put the Nth Plate block after that step in the Use BioStack block. More... Otherwise, determine the optimal sequencing of the Nth Plate and regular steps.

  The LHC will perform the regular Use BioStack steps on all plates until the specified Nth plate is reached, then, the LHC will perform the Nth Plate steps.

  When you want to perform a special function on the Nth Plate or before the Nth Plate has been processed, put the Nth Plate block before the regular step.

1. Highlight the "Use BioStack end tag" or the step that the Nth Plate block will precede and click the Nth Plate button.

The LHC adds start and end steps, with the end step highlighted.

2. Define the start plate and how often to repeat the special procedure.
3. Use the checkboxes to tell the LHC to:

• Run only the Nth Plate steps: fill the checkbox to perform only the steps in the Nth Plate block (step container) at the designated plate. Leave the checkbox blank to perform all the protocol steps on the Nth plate, i.e. both the Nth Plate steps and the protocol steps that follow the Nth Plate block and precede the next Nth Plate block or Use BioStack end tag.
• Remove plate before running steps: to perform the Nth Plate steps without a plate. Alternatively, de-select the checkbox to perform the steps on the designated plates.

4. Click an action button and define the parameters for the "Nth Plate" steps to be performed. Make sure the steps are within the Nth Plate start and end tags.
5. Click Validate to make sure the protocol syntax is correct.

Add a Delay step to the protocol/Nth Plate steps to allow time during processing to put a special plate, like a priming plate, on the instrument or to do another manual task.