PCR Plate Designer & Master Mix Calculator
Save keeps the plate in this browser. 0 saved so far; saving again with the same experiment, date and ID replaces that entry instead of adding another. To remove a saved plate, delete it from the Load list.
Master mix aliquot
Select wells by clicking or dragging, then choose a master mix.
Select some wells first.
Template aliquot
Select wells by clicking or dragging, then choose a template. Only wells that have a master mix are open.
Select some wells first.
Master mixes
“Water (fill)” is the water that brings a reaction up to volume. Water used as a negative control is a template, and lives in the other table. They are different things.
0 reactions
| Component | Goes | Stock | Final | µL / well | Total µL | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | ||||||
| — | — |
- Per well
- —
- Make in total
- —
- Reactions made
- 0
- No wells carry this master mix, so there is nothing to make. Assign some wells on the plate above.
- A component has no value yet, so nothing has been worked out.
Templates and samples
0 of 96 wells in use
Saved in this browser as you go, so it is still here when you come back. Export a file to move it to another machine or to keep more than one plate — the tool holds one at a time.
The workbook has three sheets — plate layout, master mixes, templates — with the colours and rules kept. It is for reading; to load a plate back into this tool, use the plate file (.json).
How to use it
- Fill in the experiment, date and ID. A printed sheet has to be able to say which run it belongs to.
- Select wells on the master mix aliquot. Drag across them, or use a row header for all 12 wells in that row and a column header for all 8 in that column. Shift extends, Ctrl adds a well on its own.
- Assign a master mix to the selection. Its colour stays on those wells.
- Move to the template aliquot and put samples, standards, PC and NC into the same wells. Wells with no mix are locked; clicking one asks which mix should go in.
- Write the mix recipe in the table below. There is no field for the number of reactions — it is counted off the plate.
- Open the print preview, choose landscape or portrait, and print one page. Paper has no tooltips, so the tables are the legend.
Formulas and cautions
- Volume per reaction = the value you entered, or (final ÷ stock) × reaction volume when a concentration pair is given
- Water (fill) = reaction volume − everything else added together
- Per reaction = the components that go in the mix, plus the fill. Separately added components are not part of it.
- Make in total = per reaction × reactions × (1 + excess %), or per reaction × (reactions + extra reactions)
- A concentration pair wins over a typed volume, because it is the one that follows when the reaction volume changes.
- If the components already exceed the reaction volume, the fill is reported as a problem rather than shown as a negative number.
What this tool does not do
- 384-well plates — 96 only for now.
- Plates that are not PCR, such as ELISA — different layouts and different rules.
- Automatic or randomised layouts — where things go is your decision.
- Analysis of results such as Ct values — this is a tool for before the run.
- Instrument-specific export — what it writes is one .json that it can read back.
- ⚠️ The volumes are a guide. Pipetting error and dead volume are yours to cover with the excess field.