Serial dilution calculator
Get the concentration, transfer volume, and diluent volume for every tube.
A 1:10 dilution is a factor of 10. Each step moves a measured volume from the previous tube into fresh diluent.
How a serial dilution works
In a serial dilution, you dilute a sample by the same factor several times in a row. Each tube’s concentration is the previous tube’s concentration divided by the dilution factor, so after n steps the total dilution is the factor raised to the power n.
For a final volume V and a dilution factor DF, transfer V ÷ DF of the previous tube into V − V ÷ DF of fresh diluent. A tenfold series with 1 mL tubes uses 0.1 mL transfers and 0.9 mL of diluent.