What's New in This Release

Featuring Seeding Experiments in NT8

NT8 version 2.9 enables you to work with seeding experiments that can help with the crystallization process. You can either design your seeding experiment in ROCK MAKER version 3.10 or newer, or directly from the NT8 software. Create a seeding experiment in ROCK MAKER and input your experiment barcode number in NT8 to automatically load your dispense protocol. You can further adjust any of the dispense settings through the NT8 ROCK MAKER Integration (RMI) tab. If you want to create a seeding experiment directly from NT8, just mix the ingredients during the aspirate process to suspend the seeds in the source liquid and then proceed to dispense as usual. For more information, see Running Seeding Experiments.

Seeding Experiment Created in ROCK MAKER® Crystallization Software	Seeding Experiment Created in NT8® Drop Setter

NT8 version 2.8.4 brings new features and improvements to help make your research easier! Here is a quick look at some of the new developments.

• Fixed an issue where the system would unexpectedly reset the HV Protein Tray calibration data when updating the NT8 software.
• Fixed an issue with the water level sensor that caused the water chamber to fill continuously when humidifier 1 was running, even if the chamber was already full.
• Fixed an exception that occurred when running a task after the protein tray was removed.

• Added a warning message that appears when saving a new plate in the NT8 plate carousel with a name that has already been used. This notification prevents the user from overwriting existing plate data.

Warning Message to Inform Duplicate Plate Name

• The ability to run the software installer from admin mode has been removed. This feature can now be accessed by clicking the Advanced button.

• Improved Plate Copying: Ability to Mix Solution Before Aspirating. NT8 now has the ability to mix the solution before aspirating it from a deep well block and dispensing it into a daughter plate. Customizable mixing cycles can be programmed to ensure that you get a well-mixed solution prior to copying a plate. For more information, see Creating Daughter Plates (Plate Copying).

New Mixing Option on the Aspirate Menu

• More Convenient Plate Station Changing. Previously, changing a plate station on your NT8 instrument required you to create a new task list. Now, you can change plate stations by simply selecting the desired location from a drop-down menu. For added convenience, the NT8 software now provides you with the relevant deck position information in the Task List grid. For more information, see The Task List Panel.

Task List

• Improved Plate Management. Plate Management has been made easier through the addition of a Save As option, and the ability to hide any unused plate type definitions. You can click the Save As button in the Plate Type Editor to save the new plate type definition as a different file name without overwriting the previous definitions. Now you can also hide unused plate type definitions by right-clicking the definition on the Plate Library. For more information, see Editing Plate Types.

Plate Type Editor

• Intuitive ROCK MAKER Integration. The latest NT8 software provides you with a NT8-ROCK MAKER Integration that is easier to use than ever before. Now you can immediately perform ROCK MAKER integration, without restarting the NT8 software. For more information, see ROCK MAKER Integration Tab. Do not hesitate to contact our support team if you need help configuring this feature.

• Auto detection for Protein Tray. This new feature enables the NT8 to automatically recognize whether a High Volume or Low Volume protein tray is attached to the system. This eliminates the potential for an errors that could occur when the software and hardware are not synced. For more information, see The Protein Source Station.

• NT8 Sterilization Wizard. The NT8 sterilization procedure has been revised and made into a wizard. The wizard will prompt you to run the sterilization process every 6 months. This process maintains the chamber and channels of the NT8. Read more about read Sterilizing the Liquid Lines.

NT8 Sterilization Wizard

• Additional control over LCP drop sizes. The NT8 can now dispense different volumes to different columns on a plate with the LCP head. For example, you can dispense 50 nL of monoolein to columns 1-6, and 40 nL to columns 7-12. For more information, see Adding commands to the task list.

Multi LCP Dispensing

• Set Custom Humidity Levels Custom . A humidifier setting has been added to the Advanced Options menu for added control over humidity levels. For more information, read Configuring Humidifiers.

Humidifier Level

• Multi-Select in the Task List. You can now select more than one Task List item from the Task List panel and execute the normal copy, paste, cut and delete commands on all items at once. Press Ctrl + click to select non-consecutive items, or press Shift + click to select consecutive items. Read more about the Experiment Designer Tab.

  

  Multiple Selection in Task List

• Use the Plate Copy head to aspirate and dispense from the drop location at a well. You can now program the NT8 to perform a plate copy using the drop location at a well, instead of being limited to the well reservoir as the aspirate and dispense location.

• Revamped Plate Type Editor. The Plate Type Editor has been revamped to be more intuitive, providing you with on-screen instructions for adding new plates to the Plate Library or editing existing ones. Read more about Adding Plate Types.

The Plate Type Editor

• Improved ROCK MAKER Integration. ROCK MAKER integration has been improved, providing more detailed on-screen instructions for setting up ROCK MAKER experiments in the NT8. Read more about Running ROCK MAKER Experiments with NT8.

• Edit Offset/Volume during a Pause. Previously, applying new offsets and volume settings could only be done before the NT8 executed your experiment/task list sequence. Now, you can modify and apply the offset and volume settings during a pause. Your changes apply to the next process in the Task List. Read more about Setting the Dispense Volume.

Task Details Dialog Box

• Copy Task Lists. You can now copy and paste tasks in the Task List panel making it faster to add repeat tasks to your task list. Read more about Adding Command to the Task List.

• Delay Button. You can add the desired delay time to your task list when you want the NT8 to pause at some point during the task list execution. Read more about Task List Panel.

  

  Delay Button

• Pitch Calculation. The pitch calculation has been added to the Plate Type Editor to calculate the last column position of a Deep Well plate without head stage training. The software will automatically calculate the value once you fill in the X and Y pitch values.

• Required Number of Low Volume and High Volume Tips. The NT8 now displays the number of required LV and HV tips on the ACTIVE HEAD panel, so you can better prepare the hardware for an upcoming dispense. Read more about Head Panel.

Required Number of Low Volume and High Volume Tips Displayed in the ACTIVE HEAD Panel

• Automatic Z-offset LCP Task Details Change. When you select the LCP head on the Task Details dialog box, you will now see settings for the Z-offset and a check box which enable you to manually or automatically adjust the clearance between the LCP tip and plate surface.

LCP Task Details Dialog Box

• LCP Mixing Progress Bar. The LCP mixing progress bar is made available to inform you about the LCP mixing status. Read more about Mixing LCP Drops.

LCP Mixing Progress Bar

• Apply Liquid Class to Individual Well Column. You can now choose the liquid class for your experiments on a column-by-column basis. Liquid classes are selected when defining aspirate and/or dispense volumes. Read more about Setting the Dispense Volume.

Task Details Window

• Improved ROCK MAKER Integration. NT8 is now better integrated with ROCK MAKER, providing step-by-step, on-screen instructions for setting up your ROCK MAKER experiment on the NT8. To experience this, you must run ROCK MAKER version 3.0.2.8 or newer. An error message will appear when the required ROCK MAKER version is not available. Read more about Running ROCK MAKER Experiments with NT8.

• Send Feedback. Want to share your idea on how to improve NT8 software? Feel free to tell us-- click the "How We Can Improve?" button in the software to get started. For more information, see The Toolbar.

Customer Feedback

Liquid Classes for Well Solutions

The NT8 has been programmed to handle well solutions based on liquid class, resulting in more accurate aspirations and dispenses. Options include Normal, Medium, High, and Very High. The liquid class is set when you add an aspirate or dispense command to the task list. For more information, see Liquid Class Guidelines.

Task Details Dialog Box

Flexible Finger Clamps

Before the NT8 begins dispensing reagents, new flexible finger clamps will automatically lock the tips in position once they touch the base of the well and then retract by a specific distance in order to create an equal gap between the base of the wells and the tips. This creates smoother dispenses by creating more accurate and precise dispenses at the drop location and reducing air bubbles in the drop.

Create Three Daughter Plates from One Deep Well Block

The NT8 now allows you to create daughter plates on microplate station 3, allowing you to create up to three daughter plates from one deep well block in one task list. For further instructions, see Creating Daughter Plates (Plates Copying).

More Flexible Control Over Humidifier Operations

You can now switch the humidifier from Manual to Automatic control or vice versa when the NT8 is executing a task list. Simply click the humidifier button / on the toolbar to change modes.

Hardware Improvements

• New High Volume Protein Blocks. The NT8 now supports high volume protein blocks that can hold up to 13 μL protein. We’ve also created a protein block that fits microplate station 3, and holds the equivalent of four protein blocks. Read more about The Protein Source Station.

High Volume Protein Blocks

• New Door Sensor. We added a sensor into the NT8’s hardware design that automatically stops operations when the door is open for your protection.

• Support for multiple Hamilton LCP syringe sizes. NT8 2.4 supports for multiple Hamilton syringe sizes (i.e. Hamilton 1700 syringe series model 1710 RN (100 μL) and Hamilton 1705 RN (50 μL) ), giving you more flexibility when running LCP experiments. Read more about LCP Experiments.

Software Improvements

• More intuitive LCP calibration. After you install a LCP syringe, the system will automatically ask you if you want to calibrate the syringe. This action ensures that the LCP dispense positions are accurate and reliable. Read more about Setting Up LCP Experiments.

• Ability to move tasks outside of the Repeat task list. You can now drag and drop tasks from inside the repeat area on the task list panel to outside the repeat list. Read more about the Task List Panel.

• New park location buttons. We’ve added park location 3 and updated the park location buttons to reflect the final park position, so if you don’t remember what park location 1, 2, or 3 is you don’t have to press the button to find out. To learn more about the NT8 software interface, see Using the Software.
  

• New keyboard shortcut selection options. You can now use both the Shift + Click and Ctrl + Click shortcuts to select columns when defining aspirate and dispense commands.

• Plate Type Editor Improvements. Our engineers redesigned the plate definition creator, which is now called the Plate Type Editor. Now, you can set the plate height, well offset, and well pitch settings through dedicated buttons that will bring you to the motion controls for quick position adjustments. Read more about Creating a Plate Definition.

Support for Additional Deep Well Plate Types

The NT8 now supports additional types of deep well plates. Choosing the appropriate type of deep well plate enables the NT8 to more accurately aspirate the solution from the plate. You can also manually edit deep well plate definitions.

For best results, please make sure that the deep well plate definition matches the actual plate in use.

Note: Deep well plates are only used in plate copy experiments, which require the plate copy attachment.

Read more about The Deep Well Station.

Low Volume Tip Count Monitoring

The NT8 now monitors the number of low volume (LV) tips available. If you are trying to run an experiment that requires more tips than are available, the NT8 software displays a dialog box telling you how many are available and how many more tips you need.

Read more about The Tip Caddy Station.

Support for More Display Aspect Ratios

The NT8 software now supports more display aspect ratios. You can now seamlessly resize the software window without display issues. We recommend a 16:9 screen aspect ratio.

Read more about Navigating the NT8 Interface.

Flexible Finger Controls

The NT8 now has a flexible finger feature for more accurate dispensing.

Before dispensing, the NT8 will automatically detect the Z adjustment value/position, which is used as a clearance between LV tips and the plate. The NT8 will adjust the fingers as necessary. The flexible finger control can be found in the lower-right of the microplate Task Details dialog.

Flexible Finger Controls

Note: The LV tips attachment sensor indicators will turn off when the NT8 is ready for dispensing.

Read more about Microplates Station 1, 2, and 3.

Liquid Detection Sensors

The NT8 is now equipped with the liquid detection sensors on each of the high volume (HV) tip attachments. The system will automatically check the wells for liquid before aspirating.

Read more about The Deep Well Station.

ROCK MAKER Integration Application

The NT8 now seamlessly integrates with ROCK MAKER allowing you to load and run an experiment from ROCK MAKER*.

*ROCK MAKER version 2.4 or later required.

Read more about Running ROCK MAKER Experiments with NT8.

User Interface Improvements

The NT8 user interface was improved to reflect the latest NT8 hardware platform. Below are some NT8 interfaces before (bottom) and after (top) the changes.

New Version

New NT8 Interface

Previous Version

Older NT8 Interface

Read more about Setting Up the Software