PCR Plate Designer & Master Mix Calculator
Lay out a 96-well plate and get the mix volumes that go with it, on one printable page.
Lay out master mixes on the left, and templates on the right.
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).
- 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.
- 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.
- Can I type the number of reactions myself?
- No. The wells you painted are the reactions. Editing the plate and forgetting the table is how someone ends up mixing too little, and it happens with no warning at all. If you want more than the plate needs, use the excess field.
- Some wells on the template aliquot will not take a click.
- They have no master mix. Template without mix is not something you can pipette, so the structure refuses it rather than warning about it. Click one and it asks which mix to put in; pick one and the well opens.
- How do I run a sample in triplicate?
- Put the same template in three wells. There is no separate replicate concept — the same name is the same sample, and how many wells carry it is counted for you.
- My negative control is not water.
- That is why you name the material yourself. Matrix blanks, extraction blanks and no-RT controls are all NC, so write whatever it is and leave the role as NC.
- Water seems to appear twice.
- They are different things. “Water (fill)” in the mix table brings a reaction up to volume; water in the template table is the material in an NC well. It is part of why there are two tables.
- Will I lose the plate I drew?
- It is saved in this browser as you go, so it is there when you come back. The tool holds one plate at a time, so export a file to keep several or to move one to another machine.