MALDI Q-Tof Premier Operators Guide - Waters

Controlling the sample plateDuring an acquisition the sample plate is controlled either using a crosshairpointer or by following a predefined pattern.Acquisitions from the Sample List only use pattern control.Pattern editorA pattern is constructed from a series of nodes (up to a maximum of 100).These nodes define a series of points between which the plate carrier moves.When the end of the pattern is reached the movement stops. If an acquisitionis being run from the Sample List and the end of pattern is reached theacquisition also stops.Each pattern is scaled to fit the sample wells, so that there are same numberof nodes in a 2.5 mm well as there are in a 2 mm well.There are 13 predefined patterns, either spiral or straight line, that can beloaded from the Pattern Editor (see Figure titled “Spiral pattern in PatternEditor:” on page 1-17). Further patterns can also be defined in the PatternEditor if required. The *.ptn files are comma delimited text files and can beopened and modified in any spreadsheet application.1-16 Basic Principles