Introduction to Reagents

By importing reagents into eLab the details of those reagents become available to use in tasks. This is useful for specifying the exact batches used - an important ability for quality control.

Each reagent has the following properties:

Reagent Identifier
When a reagent is imported into eLab it is assigned a unique identifier, the Reagent Id. The Reagent Id is composed of two integers separated by a hyphen. The first integer is the reagent number and is incremented each time a reagent is imported. The second number is always set to 1 for newly imported reagents. As further reagents are derived from an imported reagent the second integer is incremented. For example, a Reagent Id of 18-4 means that the reagent was the 4th reagent derived (by means of aliquoting or performing tasks) from the 18th reagent that was imported or created in the system .
Container Location
This property describes the device that the reagent is stored in and is often presented in the following format: <Storage Id>: <Device name>. For example, 3: Freezer 1 indicates that the associated container is stored in the device named ‘Freezer 1’ that has the Identifier ‘3’. Usually reagents are stored in fridges, freezers or cabinets. Locations are created and maintained from the Fridges and Cabinets screen, see Introduction to Fridges and Cabinets.
Location
This property describes the container that the reagent is stored in and is often presented in the following format: <Container Id>: <Container name>. <Row><Column>. For example, 18: Container 1. B3 indicates that the associated reagent is located in the second row and third column of the container named ‘Container 1’ that has the Identifier ‘18’. Containers are created and maintained from the Containers screen, see Introduction to Containers.
Row
The value of this property corresponds to the row of the container where the reagent is located.
Column
The value of this property corresponds to the column of the container where the reagent is located.
Reagent Type
Each reagent has an associated reagent type which describes what that reagent is. For example, ethanol has the reagent type Ethanol. See Adding a Reagent Type for the details of creating sample types
Volume
Maintaining the volume, and associated units, of the reagent gives users an estimate of the volumes available to perform tasks.
Note: As tasks are performed the actual volume of reagents remaining may differ to that indicated by eLab, see Editing a Reagent for details on adjusting volumes.
Concentration
Use this property to maintain the value of the concentration of a reagent, if required.
Contamination
The contamination property is used to associate one of the following levels of contamination with a reagent:
- Yes. The reagent is definitely contaminated.
- Maybe. The reagent is possibly contaminated.
- No. The reagent is definitely not contaminated.
- Unknown. No determination of any contamination has been made. This is the default contamination setting for reagents.
Comments
This field contains any comments attached to the reagent.
Manufacturer
This is the name of the manufacturer that produced the reagent.
Name/Batch
This field contains information used to identify the particular consignment of reagent.
Expiry Date
This is the expiry date of the reagent.
Created By
This is the user that the reagent was created by. This is useful when a reagent is created in-house.
Date Created
The date the reagent was created in eLab.