Using this procedure, it is possible to transfer 96 lines of seeds from tubes and sterilise them in about 15 minutes of hand work and about 25 minutes of robot work. Seed sterility using this procedure is at least as good as when done by hand. Minor changes in the protocol could probably reduce this cross-contamination, but we have not attempted them since the contamination has been so low that it does not affect our work. More details can be obtained from Tim Caspar. If you would like a copy of the Biomek program code, send him a PC-formatted 3.5 inch floppy disk.
Water is added manually to dilute the isopropanol.
Finally the seeds are resuspended in dilute, sterile agar for manual plating. A small amount of cross-contamination of the wells should be expected. Never place your hands or other objects in the path of the robot arm while the indicator light on the top of the robot arm is illuminated. For an emergency stop of the robot, press the red emergency stop button at the front, middle of the robot unit. After seeds are distributed to all wells and within 20 minutes, add 100 ul water to each well to dilute the isopropanol.