You will need to remove the plates you intend to replicate from the -80° freezer at least 1/2 hour ahead of time to thaw out.
Move the following instruments to the zero position
Transfer arm in X -the far right side of the machine
Transfer arm in Y -the highest position
Filter trays 1-4 -as far back as possible
BioBank holder bar -as far down as possible
Vacuum lid lifter -as far down as possible
Source plate hooks -as far forward as possible
Start up the BioGrid by pressing the switch on the right side towards the back for the whole robot and turning the knob on for the fan towards the front on the right side
Press the interrupt button on the right side towards the front of the when done
The Main Menu will appear and click on the box to “Load previously saved parameters”.
You will want to select “96-384r” if you are replicating a 96-well into a 384 –well plate.
Press enter after typing in the program name and it will return to the main menu.
Now select the “set run parameters” and double check everything is what you want the run to perform. Enter the number of copies you want to make. Change anything that needs to be changed and click “OK” at the bottom right of the screen.
The machine will run through a check and then prompt to load the adapter plate tray containing the 384-well plates. The tray has prongs on the underneath side that fit into the corners of the holder. The tray fits slightly overhanging the edge of the holder in the front. Remove the lids on all the plates and place on the tray with A1 facing the back right. Press the interrupt button when finished.
The computer screen will prompt you to load the BioBank. This is a bit confusing because the orientation of the plates with A1 in the back right. We opted to keep this orientation due to the requirement of the orientation for correct stamping so there will be no switching from the front to back. A1 will always be facing toward the back. Therefore, the BioBank has to be loaded in the opposite order of the stamping. The first plate going to be replicated into the A1 position must be placed in the 4th position in the BioBank and the first plate in the BioBank will be replicated into the B2 well on the 384-well plate. The BioBank position numbers have been adjusted for this on the Master Plate Replication worksheet for easier loading.
The computer prompts you to attach the 96-pin tool to the arm holder. Secure the tool on by tightening the little black screw really well and then press the interrupt button.
The computer will prompt you to fill the bath trays up to the step. The first tray on the left fill with dH2O and the second fill with 80% ethanol and then press the interrupt button.
This time the machine will start the run automatically when you press the interrput button starting with a wash cycle.
When the run is complete the machine will beep until any key on the keyboard is pressed. Then you will be prompted to take out your plates