Adding and Editing Ingredients

At times you may need to add an ingredient to the Rock Maker ingredient library, edit an existing ingredient, or add an alias. This topic explains how to do each of the following in a step-by-step fashion:

Adding Ingredients
Adding Ingredient Types
Adding Ingredient Vendors
Adding a Liquid Class
Adding Ingredient Aliases
Adding Ingredient Stocks
Editing Ingredients

Adding Ingredients

You can follow the instructions below to manually add an ingredient to Rock Maker, or you can importing an XML file or text file.

On the Explorer, expand Setup and double-click Ingredients.
Right-click the Ingredients table and select New Ingredient.
Next to Long Name and Short Name, type a long name and short name for the ingredient.
Right-click the Types table, point to Add Type and choose an item from the list that displays. Repeat this step to assign more types to the ingredient. For each type that you add, a separate row will be added to the Ingredients table under the same ingredient ID. You can remove a type by right-clicking it and selecting Remove Type.

Note: If you assign the Buffer type to an ingredient, the Buffer Data area will appear in the Add Ingredient dialog box. This area allows you to view and edit data specific to buffers, such as the Titration Curve and Mixing Data. The Buffer Data area does not apply to the other ingredient types.

In the Aliases table, enter any known aliases used in place of the ingredient name.
In the CAS Nos table, enter the CAS registry numbers that apply to the ingredient.
If you have selected the Buffer type for the new ingredient, you can edit the Buffer Data area if necessary.
Now you are ready to add stocks (see related sub-topic further on this page).

Adding Ingredient Types

Rock Maker is configured to recognize the ingredient types buffer, salt precipitant, detergent, additive and water. You can add additional ingredient types as needed.

To add an ingredient type:

Right-click the Ingredients table and select Ingredient Types.
Right-click the Ingredient Types table and select New Type.

Note: You may also delete an ingredient type by right-clicking it and selecting Delete Type. This works only for types not currently in use.

Click in the row and type a name for the new ingredient type.
Click OK.
Save your changes by selecting Save from the Application Menu.

Adding Ingredient Vendors

In the Vendors dialog box, you can enter the names of the vendors from whom you purchase your ingredients. When adding a stock to an ingredient, you can then select the appropriate vendor and record the part number assigned to the stock by the vendor.

To add a vendor:

Right-click the Ingredients table and select Vendors.
Right-click the Vendors table and select New Vendor.
Type the name of the vendor in the new row.
Click OK. The vendor is now available for selection when you are adding or editing ingredient stocks.

Note: To delete a vendor, right-click it and select Delete Vendor. You cannot delete a vendor that is in use.

Adding a Liquid Class

An ingredient's liquid class tells the liquid-handling robot exactly how the ingredient should be dispensed. Each stock of an ingredient can have its own liquid class.

When you define a liquid class in Rock Maker, you must specify the maximum amount that should be dispensed at once. Additional parameters that are associated with the liquid class are stored on the liquid-handling robot.

Important: The name that you specify for a liquid class must match the name used on the liquid handler.

To add a liquid class:

Right-click the Ingredients table and select Liquid Classes.
Right-click the Liquid Classes table and select New Liquid Class.
Type a name for the liquid class in the new row.
In the Max Transfer Volume column, enter a value for the maximum volume.
During dispensing, this value will be used to break up the dispense into multiple dispenses. For example, if a screen dispense requires 1000 mL of water and the max transfer volume is 450 mL for the water liquid class, then for a single water dispense you actually have three transfers of 450 mL, 450 mL, and 100 mL.
Click OK.
Save your changes by selecting Save from the Application Menu, or by typing CTRL+S. You can now assign the new liquid class to ingredients.

Adding Ingredient Aliases

To add an alias:

In the Add Ingredient or Edit Ingredient box, right-click the Aliases table and select Add Aliases.
Type a name for the alias in the new row.
Optional: Select Export if you want the alias to be included whenever you export the ingredient. This applies only when exporting to a text file.

Adding Ingredient Stocks

For an ingredient that has only one ingredient type, you must define at least one stock. If the ingredient has a buffer type and at least one non-buffer type, you must define at least one buffer stock and one non-buffer stock.

Note: Once an ingredient stock is used in a screen or experiment, the ingredient and the stock become read-only to prevent harmful changes to the data.

In the Add Ingredient or Edit Ingredient box, right-click the Stocks table and select Add Stock.

Use the following table as a guide for entering information about the new stock:

Column Name	Description
Stock ID	The unique ID number of the stock.
Stock Number	Rock Maker automatically assigns a number to the stock.
Stock Conc.	The concentration of the stock.
Conc. Units	Units of concentration.
Low Conc.	The default low concentration of the stock used when you are designing experiments. Once you add the stock to an experiment, Rock Maker allows you to change this value if necessary.
High Conc.	The default high concentration of the stock used when you are designing experiments. Once you add the stock to an experiment, Rock Maker allows you to change this value if necessary. The high concentration cannot be higher than the stock concentration.
Liquid Class	Click in the Liquid Class menu and select the appropriate liquid class for the ingredient.
Buffer	This check box indicates whether the stock is a buffer or not. This allows you to appropriately label buffers that sometimes act as acids.
Stock pH	The pH of the stock.
Vendor	The vendor from whom the stock was purchased. Vendors are managed on the Ingredients screen.
Vendor Part #	The part number assigned to the stock by the vendor.
Dispense Order	This value indicates the order in which the ingredient should be dispensed in the well solution. All ingredients with a dispense order of 0 are dispensed first, those with a dispense order of 1 are dispensed second, and so on.
Buffer Default	A check in this box indicates that the stock is the default buffer stock for the ingredient. To set the default buffer, right-click a buffer stock and select Set as Default Buffer Stock. If the ingredient has a buffer type and at least one non-buffer type, you can select a default buffer stock and a default non-buffer stock.
Non-Buffer Default	A check in this box indicates that the stock is the default non-buffer stock for the ingredient. To set the default non-buffer, right-click a stock and select Set as Default Non-Buffer Stock. The default stock's number appears in the Default Stock Number column of the Ingredients table. Rock Maker automatically designates the first ingredient stock you create as the default stock. When you add an ingredient to a custom layer or grid layer, the default stock is always used. You’ll be given the option of selecting a different stock.
Prepared	This check box provides a way for you to keep track of stocks that have been prepared for dispensing. This check box only serves as a reminder.
Stock Location	Stock Location is a text box where you can type in the location of your stock. This can help you locate it if you keep stocks in multiple places around your lab.
Stock Comments	Here you can enter any relevant notes about the stock. The notes displayed in this box apply only to the stock that is currently selected in the Stocks table.

Print the ingredient stock's label by right-clicking it and selecting Print labels. Place the label on the vial.
Repeat steps 1 – 3 to add more stocks.
Click OK.
Save your changes by selecting Save from the Application Menu.

Editing Ingredients

Double-click the ingredient's row in the Ingredients table. The Edit Ingredient dialog box displays.
Make changes to the ingredient data as you see fit.
Click OK.
Save your changes by selecting Save from the Application Menu.

Note: Once an ingredient has been dispensed, you cannot make changes to the ID, Long Name or Short Name fields.