Kenny Li

Every chemist knows C V = C V .

So why do dilutions still fail?

Because the formula isn't the problem. The execution is.

Three traps I see in every lab including mine:

Trap 1: The unit trap.
A stock at 100 g/mL. You need 100 ng/mL. That's a 1000 dilution, not 100 . One missed " " and your dose is off by an order of magnitude. The formula is correct. The concentration isn't.

Trap 2: The "unpipettable" dilution.
C V =C V says: take 1 L of a 10 mM stock, add 999 L buffer. Mathematically perfect. Physically insane you're trusting a P10's lowest range for your entire experiment.

Trap 3: The wrong pipette.
A P200 delivers ~1-3% accuracy at the top of its range but 3-5% near the bottom. If your "100 L" is actually 95, your dilution is 5% off before you start.

Here's what I love about SciTuu's dilution calculator (scituu.com, free, runs in your browser):

C V = C V Stock: 100 M
Target: 10 M
Final: 1,000 L Pipette 100 L stock + 900 L diluent Feasible with a P200 pipette

It doesn't just give you the number. It tells you whether the plan is actually executable and with which pipette.

That tiny "Feasible with a P200" line saves more experiments than any spreadsheet ever will. Because it forces the question: is this dilution physically sane, or just mathematically correct?

Chemistry is a bench sport. The math is the easy part. The pipette is where experiments actually die.

What's the worst dilution mistake you've seen or made? Asking for a lab that's definitely not judging.

#Chemistry #Dilution #LabLife #WetLab #Pipetting #SciTuu #LabAutomation #ChemistryMemes

I m curious how wet-lab teams handle this today.

A typical experiment can leave behind CSV or XLSX exports, NanoDrop or plate-reader files, notebook notes, protocol details, and messages in Slack or Teams. The calculations may be correct, but the context is often split across several places.

When someone needs to review, reproduce, or hand off the work, what does that process look like in your lab?

A few questions I d especially love to hear about: