Katalyst: Creating multiple (bulk) Katalyst experiments from plate templates

Description

• Users run many similar experiments with the same or similar plate layouts (e.g., screening campaigns).
• Manually creating each experiment and defining plates is time‑consuming and error‑prone.
• Users want a repeatable way to create new experiments from existing templates, including reaction and analysis plates.

Solution

• Use experiment templates and/or plate templates to speed up experiment creation:
  1. Define a master experiment
     • Create a representative experiment with the desired reaction/analysis plates, materials layout, and processing settings.
     • Finalize the plate configuration but keep analytical data out (or minimal) so it acts as a template.
  2. Save as a template
     • If your Katalyst version supports explicit experiment templates, save this experiment configuration as a reusable template.
     • Alternatively, copy/clone this experiment whenever a similar run is needed, then adjust names, dates, and any minor differences.
  3. Reuse plate templates
     • Store common plate layouts (size, well positions, default reagents) as plate templates.
     • When creating a new experiment, select these plate templates instead of designing plates from scratch.
• For large campaigns:
  • Standardize naming conventions for templates so users easily pick the right one (e.g., “Screening_384w_v1”).
  • Train users to start new work from templates rather than from blank experiments to improve consistency.