Start your protocol

CytoGenie creates a complete, highly professional protocol and pipetting guide that you can print out for your laboratory notebook and give to your technicians.  If you are using CytoGenie in conjugation with our Science DataStore, you can also electronically archive your protocol together with your data.

Start with the Wizard bar, whose buttons will take you to most of the major tasks that CytoGenie performs.

If the Wizard bar does not display and you want to start a protocol, click the Design protocols tab.

Click Start protocol.  A small menu will offer you three choices:  Start a new protocol, Work on a previous protocol, Use a previous protocol as a template.  Click the one you want.

New protocols

If you are new to CytoGenie, you will most likely click Start a new protocol.

The Protocol window will display.  Type in your Study name and Protocol name.  Use names that will mean something to you in the future so you can easily find and reuse your protocol.  

CytoGenie handles different Protocol types.  If you do not want the default setting, click the down arrow.  A menu will drop down.  Click your choice.

If you do not want the default Target species, click the Down arrow.  Click and drag the scroll bar to see the entire list.  Click your choice.

To change the Intended execution date, use the up and down arrows or type to create a new one.

Two different ways to use a previous protocol

As you use CytoGenie, you will increasingly save time by reusing and reworking your old protocols.  Click Start protocol.  A small window appears.  If you want to change an existing protocol or continue working on one you left incomplete, click Work on a previous protocol.

If you want to keep the old protocol as it is while using it to create a new one, click Use a previous protocol as a template.

The Protocol pick tree will appear.  Click  any node to view it.  Click to highlight a previous protocol or one we provided for you.  Find the button with either Edit this protocol or Use as  template.  Click it.

Your pick will appear on the Protocol window, where you can begin to modify it to create a new protocol.  (See Stain sets and Instrument below.)  Your original protocol will remain in your knowledge base unchanged. 

Stain sets

If your protocol does not yet have the stain set(s) you want, click Add Stain set.  A menu will give you two choices.  To pick your reagents from scratch,  click Create new "stain set" record.  Click here to see how.

If you want to reuse or rework an earlier stain set or one we provided for you, click Add pre-existing Stain set record from list/tree.

The Stain set pick tree will appear.  Click  any node to view it.  Click to highlight a previous protocol or one we provided for you.  Click Pick.

Your pick will appear in the Stain set(s) field of the Protocol window.  To modify the stain set, click Make stain sets on the Wizard bar.  To add another stain set, click Pick.  You will return to the Stain set pick tree, where you can repeat the steps above.

Instrument 

Which instrument will you use?  To pick or change one, go to Instrument for this protocol and click either Add instrument.  For help, click here.