Overview

Deltasoft PC is software that collects and analyzes data from microplate readers. This is the first version of the software for the PC, and it interfaces only with Biorad readers, but its developer, BioMetallics, plans to make PC versions for other readers. DeltaSoft 3 (vers. 2.24) is the current version for the Macintosh and works with a variety of readers. The software allows the creation of templates to collect endpoint data (i.e., a single time point). User-defined calculations can be performed with that data. Data can also be collected at varying time points for kinetic analysis or converted to endpoint data if desired. Limit reports can be generated to predict results that have reached user-defined criteria. Data can be imported easily, and there are many export options. The PC version also offers a slight advance over the Macintosh version in the ability to work with multiple plates.

How Long Did It Take to Learn to Use It Productively?

To become familiar with the basics, plan to spend about a day going through the examples in the software manual. This should allow one to set up protocols and templates for single plates. It will take a few more days to learn the more advanced features: multiple plates, limit reports, transformations, standard curves, error analysis, and kinetics, but those can be learned as needed. The manual is easy to read, and the examples are helpful to quickly learn the software. Also, the manual is concisely written, making it easy to quickly study the topic in which you are interested.

Product Quality

Customizability

The program is customizable in that many options are available for what data is displayed, exported, and printed. There are also a variety of options for showing different combinations of information in the templates, such as being able to see standard names and dilutions, while at the same time making setup easier. In addition, the plate can be broken down into segments for analysis and data display.

Ability to Program in Scripts, Add Extension Modules, etc.

None.

Ability to Import and Export in Different File Formats

Data can be exported in Excel format or as tab-delimited text. There are many options for what will be exported such as the template, raw data, analyzed data, limit reports, tables, and headers. Data and templates can be imported from Excel format or text files.

Useful or Unusual Features

The software can be installed and running within minutes. The plate reader is easily connected through a serial port and automatically recognized by the program. The best thing about the software is the simple, user-friendly interface. Many of the options and, essentially, the power of the program are reached by selecting the settings option. This brings up a set of nine tabbed windows. This design keeps the menus from getting cluttered with too many features. Selections are made through menus and the option boxes. Much of the interface is through the plate layout windows. Depending on the layout selected, this allows entering blanks, standard names, samples, transformations, and dilutions. Raw or analyzed data can be displayed in the format of the plate alone, or along with the labels for the wells (the labels indicating blanks, standards, or samples). The nine windows that cover the depth of the program are Read, Curve Fit, Tables, Limits, Kinetic, Info Layout, Printout, Export, and Import. For curve fitting, there are nine equations and the possibility of using advanced weighting features. The output is fine for in-house reports, allowing quick determination of results relative to a standard curve. The software is not as ideal for determining IC50s (See Limitations). Data can be easily transformed for faster analysis than would be possible by moving the data into another program such as Microsoft Excel. Many options are available to select the data presented in tables or for printout. For publication quality or further analysis, most people want to be able to export the data into other software such as Excel or GraphPad Prism. The software offers many features for export and makes it easy to transfer the data to any program.

Limitations

Like other plate-reader software, the design is optimized for working with standard curves. The design is not ideal for determining the IC50 for a drug in an assay such as growth inhibition or apoptosis. Drug concentrations cannot be entered directly, only dilutions, so the highest concentration is one. To determine the actual IC50, the calculated IC50 from a 4-parameter fit would need to be multiplied by the actual starting concentration. Hopefully, a future version of the software will allow entry of the actual starting concentration. An additional feature that would be helpful for IC50s would be to allow log scales [drug] on the x-axis instead of just the concentration of the drug, since IC50s are usually published that way. One minor confusion I had with the software was with a new feature that was added to the Read window: Keep Template. The default setting was to have Keep Template turned off so that if you load your protocol first, which is typical if you plan to run several plates, the software erases the template after collecting data. This feature wasn't discussed in the current manual, but BioMetallics will try to make this more clear in future versions. Once you understand the option, it is easy to make "keep template" the default. Just set up a protocol with a template, select the keep-template option, and save.

Comparisons with Similar Software

Compared with its competitor SOFTmax PRO, Deltasoft PC has an easier-to-use interface and more export options. SOFTmax has slightly more graphing features, but they are still not publication quality. SOFTmax does allow entry of actual drug concentrations, so the actual IC50 is calculated. For calculations on the data, Deltasoft PC allows addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. An important consideration for some people may be that SOFTmax PRO allows more advanced transformations, such as trig functions and conditional operators (e.g.: if, and, or). These advanced transformations are probably not needed by most people, and limit reports offer some of the functionality of conditional operators, but others might prefer to have these advanced features.

Technical Support and Documentation

Other than the "keep template" option not being discussed, the manuals were easy enough to follow that I didn't run into major problems. Biometallics has answers to a variety of questions on their Web site. There is an online form on which questions can be submitted to technical support through the Web browser. Biometallics also provides email addresses and telephone numbers that can be used to contact technical support.

Target Users

Anyone who has a need for a plate reader and would like easy-to-use software with a variety of features should consider this program. Of course, there may be considerations about the features in the plate reader that might influence the decision. Biometallics is planning to make versions of the PC software for other plate readers, but if there is no problem with using a Macintosh, that version of the software is still available for a variety of plate readers. However, it seems that most of the companies I know are trying to use PCs exclusively. With that consideration, I think it is a good move by Biometallics to have made this new PC-compatible version. My perspective in reviewing the software has been that of someone in the pharmaceutical industry used to analyzing drugs and thus my comments about the challenge of getting the IC50s out of the data. Biometallics says they may address this in a future edition.