Serial Dilution Calculator

Calculate final concentration, diluent volume per tube, and total volume needed for serial dilution series in the laboratory.

Inputs

Initial Concentration

units/mL

Dilution Factor

Number of Dilutions

steps

Final Volume Per Tube

cup

Tab to move between fields

Results

Final Concentration

0.01 units/mL

Diluent Per Tube

0.9 mL

Total Volume Needed5.5 mL

How to Use This Calculator

Enter the starting stock concentration and dilution factor per step.
Set the number of dilution steps needed for your assay.
Input the volume needed at each dilution step.
Review the concentration at each step and the volume of diluent to add.
Prepare dilutions in order from most concentrated to least concentrated to minimize carry-over error.

How the result changes with Dilution Factor

Dilution Factor	Final Concentration	Diluent Per Tube
12	0 units/mL	0.92 mL
36	0 units/mL	0.97 mL
66	0 units/mL	0.99 mL
90	0 units/mL	0.99 mL

What each input means

Initial Concentration: Starting concentration of the stock solution in units per mL.
Dilution Factor: Fold dilution at each step (e.g., 10 for 1:10 dilutions, 2 for 1:2 dilutions).
Number of Dilutions: Total number of serial dilution steps to perform.
Final Volume Per Tube: Desired final volume in each dilution tube in milliliters.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Initial Concentration = 1000, Dilution Factor = 10, Number of Dilutions = 5, Final Volume Per Tube = 1 = 4 input(s) provided
Calculate Final Concentration
Final Concentration
0.01 = 0.01
Calculate Diluent Per Tube
Diluent Per Tube
0.9 = 0.9
Calculate Total Volume Needed
Total Volume Needed
5.5 = 5.5

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