Week 3 HW: Opentrons Artwork

Week 3 — Python Script for Opentrons Artwork

Assignment Summary

For this assignment, I created a Python script to run on an Opentrons liquid handling robot in order to generate a fluorescent artwork on an agar plate.

The workflow included:

Designing artwork using the Opentrons GUI tool
Extracting coordinate data
Writing a Python script compatible with Opentrons API Level 2.20
Mapping protein families to available color wells
Executing automated droplet-based patterning

My design is titled:

“Catus Mex”

A stylized Mexican cactus constructed from grouped fluorescent protein coordinate sets.

Artistic Concept

The design represents a geometric cactus silhouette inspired by biological fluorescence families.

Color logic:

Red-family proteins → Main cactus body
Green-family proteins → Internal structure and reinforcement
Orange-family proteins → Accent regions and contrast

The structure combines symmetry, layered density, and protein categorization to produce a biologically themed visual composition.

Technical Implementation

The protocol performs the following:

Loads 20 µL tip rack (slot 9)
Loads Temperature Module Gen2 (slot 6)
Loads aluminum PCR block for color wells
Loads calibrated agar plate (slot 5)
Maps protein names to available color wells
Iterates through coordinate arrays
Aspirates 2 µL per point
Dispenses using controlled droplet detachment logic
Places droplets relative to the calibrated plate center

Drop volume used: 2 µL

Each coordinate is positioned relative to the agar plate center:

target_location = center_location.move(types.Point(x=x, y=y, z=0))

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title: “Week 3 HW: Opentrons Artwork” weight: 30

Week 3 — Python Script for Opentrons Artwork

Assignment Summary

For this assignment, I created a Python script to run on an Opentrons liquid handling robot in order to generate a fluorescent artwork on an agar plate.

The workflow included:

Designing artwork using the Opentrons GUI tool
Extracting coordinate data
Writing a Python script compatible with Opentrons API Level 2.20
Mapping protein families to available color wells
Executing automated droplet-based patterning

My design is titled:

“Cactus Mex”

A stylized Mexican cactus constructed from grouped fluorescent protein coordinate sets.

Artistic Concept

The design represents a geometric cactus silhouette inspired by biological fluorescence families.

Color logic:

Red-family proteins → Main cactus body
Green-family proteins → Internal structure and reinforcement
Orange-family proteins → Accent regions and contrast

The structure combines symmetry, layered density, and protein categorization to produce a biologically themed visual composition.

Technical Implementation

The protocol performs the following:

Loads 20 µL tip rack (slot 9)
Loads Temperature Module Gen2 (slot 6)
Loads aluminum PCR block for color wells
Loads calibrated agar plate (slot 5)
Maps protein names to available color wells
Iterates through coordinate arrays
Aspirates 2 µL per point
Dispenses using controlled droplet detachment logic
Places droplets relative to the calibrated plate center

Drop volume used: 2 µL

Each coordinate is positioned relative to the agar plate center:

target_location = center_location.move(types.Point(x=x, y=y, z=0))

Design Process

Here is my initial cactus design:

The coordinate mapping visualization:

Results

The final fluorescent artwork on the agar plate:

The artwork successfully demonstrates the precision of automated liquid handling combined with biological fluorescence.

Code

You can view my complete Python script here: Google Colab Notebook