Scientific contributor: Dr. Tayner Rodriguez Garzon · Published by Cell Culture Tools · How content is prepared
Translate a viable-cell target into the stock suspension and fresh medium needed for each well and for the whole batch. Final well volume includes both liquids.
Worked examples use illustrative inputs, independent of your current calculation and selected cell line. Replace them with measured values and your lab protocol.
How to use this tool
- Select the destination format and check its manufacturer reference. Enter the total number of individual wells or vessels across all plates, then the final combined volume per unit.
- Choose the target basis: cells/cm² for an area-based plan, cells/well or vessel for a fixed count, or cells/mL for a final concentration. Enter your protocol’s target.
- Enter the measured stock concentration and viability. If the reported concentration is already viable cells/mL, enter 100% viability to avoid correcting it twice. Supply the available stock volume.
- Check the per-unit plan and batch totals. The calculation checks cell availability and whether the required stock fits into the final volume. Confirm any reference-volume warning against your exact plate and protocol.
1 mL = 1,000 µL; 1 L = 1,000 mL. Convert volumes to mL when combining them with cells/mL or mg/mL.
Worked examples
1536-well plate: 1.5 µL cells + 3.5 µL medium
Inputs. 1,536 wells; 5 µL final/well; 1,500 viable cells/well; stock 1,000,000 cells/mL; viability 100%; 3 mL stock available.
- Stock contribution: 1,500 / 1,000,000 = 0.0015 mL = 1.5 µL per well.
- Fresh medium: 5 − 1.5 = 3.5 µL per well.
- Batch cells: 1,500 × 1,536 = 2,304,000 viable cells.
- Batch volumes: 2.304 mL stock + 5.376 mL medium = 7.680 mL.
Result. Each well receives 1.5 µL stock suspension + 3.5 µL medium = 5 µL total.
96 wells with a viability correction
Inputs. 96 wells; 200 µL final/well; 10,000 viable cells/well; stock 1,000,000 total cells/mL; 80% viability; 2 mL stock available.
- Viable concentration: 1,000,000 × 0.80 = 800,000 cells/mL.
- Cells required: 96 × 10,000 = 960,000.
- Stock: 960,000 / 800,000 = 1.2 mL; final batch: 96 × 0.2 = 19.2 mL.
- Fresh medium: 19.2 − 1.2 = 18 mL.
Result. Per well: 12.5 µL stock + 187.5 µL medium = 200 µL.
Assumptions and interpretation
- The stock is treated as uniform and its measured viable concentration as representative. The model does not estimate losses during transfer, attachment or subsequent growth.
- No extra volume for reservoir dead volume, pipetting loss or spare wells is added automatically. Include your lab’s required allowance in the planned number of units.
- The below-1-µL reminder refers to stock suspension per unit, not the final dispense. It is an app screening threshold, not a validated equipment limit; a bulk mixture changes which volume is dispensed separately.
- 384- and 1536-well presets are specific Corning format references. A volume warning is a comparison with that reference, not proof that your experimental volume is wrong.
References and source scope
These sources support the stated background and product references. Formulas explain this tool’s arithmetic; worked examples are not vendor recommendations or evidence of vendor endorsement.