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Aliquots Management

Overview

A aliquot is a small portion of a larger whole, especially a sample taken for chemical analysis or other treatment. We have developed a set of functions that will enable you to generate, manage, and analyze aliquots with Labii.

Columns

All aliquots are managed with aliquots table. The aliquots table comes with the following columns:
  • Projects
  • Name
  • Description
  • Source - Sources that were used to generate this aliquot.
  • Volume - The value of the volume in the unit of ul.
  • Concentration - The concentration in the unit of ug/ul.
  • Storage Information
    • Storage - The storage to store the aliquot
    • Storage Coordinates - The coordinates of the aliquot in the storage.
  • Check Out Information
    • Checkout - Check out the aliquot to indicate the aliquot has been used.
  • Metadata

Requirements

1. Prepare storage

The storage information will be used to document how you store your samples and aliquots. It is important that you create a list of storage locations for your boxes, racks, freezers, etc. Learn more at here.
In Labii, you can create storages via the form or using the import function.

2. Create samples

Samples need to created first so that the aliquots can be created to associate with the samples.

2.1 Create samples via form

A few samples can be easily created from the form provided by Labii. Here are the detailed steps that need to be followed.

2.2 Create samples via import

If you need to create tens or hundreds of samples, it is recommended to use the import function. Please read here for the detail of preparing import document and import the records.

3. Create aliquots

In Labii, you can create aliquots using one of the following four methods based on what you require:
  1. 1.
    Create one aliquot with the built-in form. It is most effective to use this method when you only need to create a few aliquots.
  2. 2.
    Create aliquots with bulk add form. This method allows you to create multiple aliquots at the same time and is best suited for situations where the number of aliquots you need to create ranges between 2 and 20.
  3. 3.
    Create aliquots with Import function. If you need to make tens or hundreds of aliquots at the same time, this method is the best option.
  4. 4.
    Create aliquots with workflow. It is possible to automate the creation of aliquots by using workflow according to the configurations you make. If you have a pattern that needs to create a certain number of aliquots, then this method is the best you can use. Suppose, for example, that all samples need to be divided into 8 aliquots.
    1. 1.
      Trigger workflow automatically. The workflow will run automatically if a trigger is configured, and aliquots will be created by the workflow as soon as it runs.
    2. 2.
      Trigger workflow manually. A workflow can be triggered either from the add form or from the import form.

4. Manage aliquots

List of aliquots can be manage at both aliquots list view and sample detail view.

4.1 Aliquots list view

You can manage all your aliquots in the platform by using the Aliquots list view. From the side menu, you can easily access the Aliquots list view by clicking on the Aliquots table.
The Aliquots list view enables you to:

4.2 Sample detail view

With Record List by ForeignKey widget, you can display all aliquots for a sample under the sample detail view.
The widget enables you to:

4.3 Scan aliquots barcode

It is also possible to manage a list of physical aliquots by scanning the barcodes that appear on each one.
The scanning page enables you to:

5. Print aliquot barcodes

You will be able to print the aliquot labels or barcode directly from Labii once the aliquots have been created.
This can be achieved by first going to the Aliquots list view, selecting the aliquots you want to print, from the Bulk Print menu, choosing Barcode or QR code as the type of code you want to print out. Learn more at here.

6. Manage aliquot storages

As part of Labii's Aliquots Management and Storage Management, you can easily find where an aliquot is stored by searching the aliquots using the search functionality. By scanning the barcode on a storage box, you can also get a list of all the aliquots in the box.
To locate a aliquot:
  1. 1.
    Search a sample or aliquot in Labii.
  2. 2.
    Open the storage information of the aliquot.
  3. 3.
    In the storage information, you will be able to identify exactly where the aliquot is stored.
To get a list of aliquots from a storage box:
  1. 1.
    Scan the storage barcode in Labii
  2. 2.
    In the Sections view of the storage, navigate to the storage map.
  3. 3.
    Click the list view to open a list of aliquots.

7. Checkout aliquots

You can check out aliquots by using the Checkout widget, which will document the user's name and the timestamp of the check out. It is also possible to archive an aliquot during the checkout process (See the configuration of Checkout widget). The following three methods can be used to check out aliquots.
  1. 1.
    Click Checkout button. When you are in the sample section view or the aliquot column view, you can click the Checkout button.
  2. 2.
    Use Bulk edit. In Labii, you can use the Bulk edit function to checkout multiple aliquots at the same time.
  3. 3.
    Use import function. During the import process, aliquots can be checked automatically by providing the full name of the user.

Undo checkout

If you have checked out aliquots in error, you can undo it by clicking Cancel in the Checkout column.

8. Manage aliquot usage

It is very difficult to track how many aliquots for a particular sample have been consumed and how many of them are still available when aliquots are created in batches. In Labii, you are able to track the usage of aliquots in the following ways:
  1. 1.
    Open a sample and click on "Column" tab to view the data.
  2. 2.
    In the Aliquot Information section, you will find the following columns of data:
    1. 1.
      Aliquot Total - The total number of aliquots created
    2. 2.
      Aliquot Consumed
    3. 3.
      Aliquot Available - The number of aliquots in the storage that are currently available.
You can also make use of the Filter function in order to get the list of samples that still have aliquots available to them.