• Aliquots: Split a sample into identical aliquots which retain the properties of the parent sample and may have additional properties.
• You may also split an aliquot into a next generation of "subaliquots" by the same process.
• Derivatives: Derive new samples from one or more existing samples, possibly with new properties or treatments.
• Samples may also be derived from Sources in the system.
• Pooled Samples: Group together existing samples to make a combined pool sample for actions on the aggregate.

• Create New Samples from Selected Parents
• Derive from Selected Samples
• Pool Selected Samples
• Aliquot Selected Samples
• Aliquot Naming
• Aliquot Information in Grids
• Import Aliquots, Derivatives, and Pooled Samples from File
• Work with Aliquots
• View Aliquots of a Sample
• Find Original Sample Details for an Aliquot
• Aliquots in Lineage

Create Samples from Selected Parents

If you have already created the parent samples in the system and want to create new samples from these specific parents (whether by aliquoting, deriving, or pooling), you can do so from the Samples grid. (Note that if you select more than 1000 rows, the option to create samples with those parents is disabled.)

• Select the Sample Type of interest from the main menu.
• Select the parent sample(s) using the checkbox(es).
• Select Derive > , then the type of derivation. Note that on narrower browsers, the "Derive" section will be under the More > menu.
• Aliquot Selected
• Derive from Selected: Click the to expand, then select the target sample type.
• Pool Selected: Put multiple samples into pooled outputs.

Derive from Selected Samples

When you select Derive from Selected and choose the sample type, you'll see the popup with the Derivatives option chosen.

• Add the desired number of "Derivatives per parent" by entering the number and clicking Go to Sample Creation Grid.
• You will see the Samples you had selected prepopulated as parents in the grid, with as many rows per parent as you specified.

• Enter remaining sample information before clicking to Finish Creating the samples.

Pool Selected Samples

To pool a set of samples into pooled outputs, such as for testing on an aggregate of many samples, follow these steps:

• Select the Sample Type of interest from the main menu.
• Select the 'parent' samples using the checkboxes.
• If you only select one parent sample, the pooling option will not be shown.
• Select Derive > Pool Selected.
• In the popup, add the desired number of New samples per parent group by entering the number and clicking Go to Sample Creation Grid.

• You will see the Samples you had selected prepopulated as parents in every row of the grid.

• Enter remaining sample information before clicking to Finish Creating the samples.

Aliquot Selected Samples

To create aliquot portions of samples, follow the same initial process. The aliquots will share (inherit) some properties from the parent sample and may have additional aliquot-specific and/or aliquot-editable properties. If you select several samples first, each one will be aliquoted individually, i.e. you will see the desired number of rows per 'parent' with each only having the single parent.

• Select the Sample Type of interest from the main menu.
• Select the 'parent' sample(s) using the checkbox(es).
• Select Derive > Aliquot Selected.
• Add the desired number of Aliquots per parent by entering the number and clicking Go to Sample Creation Grid.

• You will see the Samples you had selected prepopulated as Aliquoted From parents in every row of the grid.
• You will also see any field properties that are editable for aliquots ("Project" and "Color" as shown here).

• You cannot change parent or source types when creating aliquots.
• Each aliquot row will have the AliquotedFrom field set to the selected 'parent' (which may itself have additional parent and source information in the system).
• Enter values in the rest of the columns as needed before clicking to Finish Creating the aliquots.

When the aliquot creation is complete, as with any other you will have a banner message telling you how many were created. They are not selected by default (the original 'parent' samples remain selected) but the banner offers you quick links to add them to storage or select them in the grid. Learn more here.

Aliquot Naming

Like any other sample, aliquots must each have a unique name within the sample type. It is best practice for aliquots to include the name of the 'parent' sample, i.e. the value from the ${AliquotedFrom} column. You can accept the default naming pattern for aliquots or include a custom pattern in the sample type definition.

The default aliquot naming pattern is the parent sample name followed by a dash and incrementing counter:

${${AliquotedFrom}-:withCounter}

Using this default as an example, if you create 5 aliquots of the sample "Tutorial-30", then "Tutorial-30-5" is the 5th aliquot. If you create a new set of aliquots later, the incrementing numbers will continue to help you clearly track the total number of aliquots of your sample. When you are creating aliquots, you can see an example of the name that will be generated in a tooltip.

If instead you wanted to use a dot between the sample name and aliquot number ("Tutorial-30.5") you'd use the pattern:

${${AliquotedFrom}.:withCounter}

Learn about more options for aliquot naming patterns in the core LabKey Server documentation.

Aliquot Information in Grids

When viewing a grid of samples, you will see the following calculated columns related to aliquots. Both of these columns are populated only for the original samples; they are set to null for aliquots themselves.

• Aliquot Total Amount: Aggregates the total available amount of all aliquots and subaliquots of this sample. Includes any aliquot with a status of type "Available".
• Aliquots Created Count: The total number of aliquots and subaliquots of this sample.
• This column is populated only for samples, and set to zero for samples with no aliquots.

Import Aliquots, Derivatives, and Pooled Samples from File

After creating the parent samples, you can create new derivatives, pooled samples, and aliquots by importing from a file, referencing the parent samples you already created. Obtain the expected import format template, then populate it to indicate the relationships.

Aliquots

Populate the AliquotedFrom column with the Sample ID of the parent Sample. To create 3 aliquots of sample "S-001" for example:

When importing a mixed set of new samples, where some are aliquots and others are not, whether there is a value in this column will determine whether "isAliquot" is set to true, and whether the aliquot suffix pattern is used (i.e. S-001-1, S-001-2, S-001-3 in the above).

Derivatives

Pooled Samples

Work with Aliquots

View Aliquots of a Sample

When viewing sample details (click the name of the sample on the grid) you will see a panel showing Aliquots, if any aliquots of this sample exist.

• Total Aliquots Created: includes any subaliquots.
• Available Aliquot Count: Availability means that an aliquot is marked with a sample status of the "Available" type. This may include custom statuses created of that type represented by a green tag.
• Available Aliquot Amount: based on the combined amounts for all 'Available' aliquots.
• Jobs with Aliquots: Count will link to a grid filtered to show the set of jobs.
• Assay Data with Aliquots: Count will link to a grid filtered to show the set of runs.

On the Aliquots tab for the originating sample, you'll see a grid showing all the aliquots of that sample, making it easy to track and perform storage operations on the group.

Find Original Sample Details for an Aliquot

When you are viewing sample details for an aliquot it will look like any sample, with Aliquot Data on the Overview panel, as well as Original Sample Data for the sample it was aliquoted from. A link to the details page for that originating sample is included.

The Aliquots panel and tab in this case would show any subaliquots of this aliquot (if any).

Aliquots in Lineage

The Lineage tab for a sample that has aliquots will show them as 'children' in the graph. Use the Filter menu to select whether to include Derivatives, Sample Parents, and Aliquots in the display.

Note that only 5 generations will display on the lineage graph. To see additional generations, walk the tree up or down to see more levels in either direction.

Related Topics

• Sample Lineage / Parentage
• Manage Samples: Edit lineage for a single sample.
• Edit Selected Samples: Edit parents and sources for multiple selected samples.
• Manage Sample Status