Plate editor: A web-based application for the management of multi-well plate layouts and associated data

Abstract

Multi-well plates are convenient tools to work with in biology experiments, as they allow the probing of multiple conditions in a compact and economic way. Although both free and commercial software exist for the definition of plate layout and management of plate data, we were looking for a more flexible solution, available anywhere, free from download, installation and licensing constraints. In this context, we created PlateEditor, a free web-based, client-side application allowing rapid creation of even complex layouts, including dose-response curves and multiple combination experiments for any plate format up to 1536 wells. PlateEditor also provides heatmap visualization and aggregation features to speedup the process of data analysis and formatting for export in other application. Written in pure JavaScript, it is fully open-source, can be integrated in various workflows and has the potential to be extended with more functionalities in the future.