1. Best Fit – This should be the most obvious feature of MasterPlex QT v4.0. With a click of that magical Best Fit button , the curve-fit is automatically optimized for you!
2. Best Fit Parameters – With the latest release of MasterPlex QT v4.0 (6/1/2009), the Best Fit can be optimized on 3 different parameters:
   1. Root mean square error (RMSE) – This is the default and recommended option.
   2. R-Square – This was the previous default parameter for the Best Fit feature.
   3. Standard Deviation of % Recovery – This is a feature that was requested by our end-users and we came through for them.

   This feature can be accessed via the Plate preferences icon in the Plate tab.

3. Quick Grouping of Replicates – Are you finding yourself manually grouping all your unknown replicates? This will be a huge time-saver for you. After grouping your first unknown replicate group, you should see a small black square appear in the bottom right-hand corner.
   
   Click and drag this square across the rest of where your unknown groups are located and see what happens =)
4. Virtual Plate – Do you need to stitch or merge multiple files together? Or how about using your standard wells from one file to use on a different file? The Virtual Plate is your answer!
5. WYSIWYG Data Table – The flexibility of the pivot-style Data Table should not be underestimated. You have the power to sort, filter, add and remove columns easily. To sort, simply click on each of the column headers. The first click will do an ascending sort and the second click will do a descending sort . Certain columns will allowing filtering. To see if a column allows filtering, hover over with your mouse and you should see a pin appear in the upper-right hand corner. Click on the pin and you will see a list of values that you can filter for. A good example of this would be the Group Name column. To add other columns, click on the Show Columns Selector button. Then click the header you want to add and drag it onto the header row of the Data Table. To remove, a column header, simply click on it and drag it downward until you see an X appear. Then release the mouse button and the column will be removed.
6. Templates – Did you spend hours on creating the perfect Data Table layout? Save time on the next analysis by saving this layout to a template by clicking on the Table Template button and press Save. When you are ready to use it next time, just press Load and your data will appear as if you spent hours preparing it! The plate layout under the Plate tab also has a template system where you can save your well grouping information and standard information. Click on the Template Manager icon and the same procedure applies here as with the Data Table templating system.
7. Plot Unknown Data Points on the Standard Curve – Check the Plot unknown wells checkbox under the Standard Curve tab and you will be able to see where your unknown data points fall on the standard curve.
   
8. Automatically Detect Outliers – The Automatic Outlier Detection system will save you time from analyzing data that is not statistically significant or should not even belong in your data set. Choose your thresholds based on MFI, Concentration, Count and/or Standard Deviation. Click the Plate preferences icon and select the Plate tab to begin picking out those bad apples.
9. Chart Customization – Do you find the default chart colors or styles repulsive? Then change them by clicking the Chart properties icon and give it a makeover. You can edit everything from the legend to point labels.
10. Custom Reports – The Data Table is extremely flexible but it may not be the perfect solution for you. In this case, the Custom Reporting feature is the answer. Browse through our publicly available of report templates and download the ones you like. Then go to the Export Manager tab in MasterPlex QT v4.0 and select Import. Browse to the file and press Open. Then click Apply and the report will be automatically generated and saved for you. If the file has an .xml extension, try opening it up in Excel to see the final product. If you would like a custom report template to be made for you, please feel to contact us regarding the details.

If you do not have the latest version of MasterPlex QT, download it and out the FREE fully functional trial version.

If you found this post useful, you may also be interested in the Top 10 Tips for Luminex/Bio-Plex® Data Analysis blog post.

• File Import Wizard – Although MasterPlex ReaderFit can automatically import some of the known file formats from common plate readers that are out there in the market, it does not handle all 100% of them. Unknown file formats can now be handled by the File Import Wizard in 1 of 2 ways:
  1. Plate Format

     

  2. List

     

  More details on using the File Import Wizard for MasterPlex ReaderFit

• Best Fit Options – The Best Fit feature now offers 3 parameters for which you can optimize for to determine the best curve fit:
  1. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) – RMSE is a good measure of accuracy or goodness of fit which aggregates the individual differences or residuals between your expected and calculated values into a single measure of predictive power. This is the default option as it is the one that is recommended.
  2. Standard Deviation of % Recovery – This option will provide the model equation and weighting algorithm combination with the lowest standard deviation of percent recovery. The percent recovery is basically the calculated concentration – the expected concentration * 100.
  3. R-squared – This option is the only Best Fit option in previous builds of MasterPlex ReaderFit. It is not as sensitive to the goodness of fit as the RMSE option.

  

• Competitive Binding and Inhibition Assays – This build provides improved support for competitive binding or inhibition assays.

  

• More Intuitive Auto Fill – The Auto Fill feature helps to automate the entry of the standard concentration values for serial dilutions. This feature has been simplified with more intuitive dilution direction buttons and being able to preview the standard values.

  

Try it out and download the free trial now!

• Best Fit Options – The Best Fit feature now offers 3 parameters for which you can optimize for to determine the best curve fit:
  1. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) – RMSE is a good measure of accuracy or goodness of fit which aggregates the individual differences or residuals between your expected and calculated values into a single measure of predictive power. This is the default option as it is the one that is recommended.
  2. Standard Deviation of % Recovery – This option will provide the model equation and weighting algorithm combination with the lowest standard deviation of percent recovery. The percent recovery is basically the calculated concentration – the expected concentration * 100.
  3. R-squared – This option is the only Best Fit option in previous builds of MasterPlex QT v4.0. It is not as sensitive to the goodness of fit as the RMSE option.

  

• Competitive Binding and Inhibition Assays – This build provides improved support for competitive binding or inhibition assays.

  

• More Intuitive Auto Fill – Auto Fill is simplified with more intuitive dilution direction buttons and being able to preview the standard values.

  

Try it out and download the free trial!

Achieving a good standard curve fit is important for calculating unknown analyte concentrations (e.g. cytokine or chemokine) using xMAP assays. A good curve fit gives confidence in the final result. However for many the task can be daunting because there are so many variables:

1. Do I treat replicates at individual points or use the average value?

2. What if a replicate fails?

3. Do I use 4PL, 5PL or some other model equation?

4. When do I use a weighting algorithm and which on should I use?

5. How do I know I have achieved the best curve fit?

MasterPlex QT has always offered advanced features for customers who like to manipulate standard curve fitting parameters manually. The latest version of MasterPlex makes it even easier to quickly ascertain the quality of your fit and tweak it on the fly by selecting different model equations, weighting algorithms or throwing out saturated and/or failed standard replicates. The new interface puts everything you need to optimize your curve fit in to one tab so you can quickly make changes and compare results instantly.
The new Best Fit feature takes curve fitting to the next level. Of course you still have the option to tweak your curve fit to heart’s content but who has the time!

Test drive the new Best Fit feature now by downloading the fully-functional trial demo of MasterPlex QT v4.0!

The official product release date is 9/22/08.

For more information, visit the MasterPlex QT v4.0 product information page.