Free tools for scientists

Twelve free, private tools for everyday lab work and scientific figures: LaTeX to PNG, colour-blind-safe palettes, a colour-blindness checker, a figure panel maker, a legend generator, and calculators for molarity, dilutions, pH, qPCR ΔΔCt, cell doubling time, western blot molecular weight and ELISA standard curves. They run in your browser, with no sign-up.

Figures

LaTeX equation to PNG

Type LaTeX, see it typeset live and download a transparent PNG at 300–1200 dpi or a vector SVG.

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Scientific colour palettes

Okabe–Ito, Paul Tol, viridis, cividis and ColorBrewer palettes with a live colour-blindness check.

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Colour-blindness checker

Upload a figure or chart and see it with protanopia, deuteranopia, tritanopia and monochrome vision.

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Figure panel maker

Combine images into a multi-panel scientific figure at Nature, Cell, PNAS or Elsevier column width, with panel letters, and export a 300–1200 dpi PNG.

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Figure legend generator

Write a complete figure legend: title, panel descriptions, n, error bars, statistical test and significance, in Nature, Cell or generic style.

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Lab calculators

Molarity calculator

Calculate the mass to weigh for a molar solution, or the molarity or volume from a mass.

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Dilution calculator

Solve C1V1 = C2V2 for any value with unit conversion, and plan serial dilutions with transfer and diluent volumes for every tube.

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pH calculator

Convert pH, pOH, [H+] and [OH−]; find the pH of strong and weak acids and bases exactly; and design buffers with Henderson–Hasselbalch.

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Cell doubling time calculator

Calculate population doubling time and growth rate from two cell counts, or fit a growth curve over the exponential phase with R².

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Data analysis

qPCR ΔΔCt calculator

Calculate ΔCt, ΔΔCt and fold change (2^−ΔΔCt, Livak) from Ct values, or the efficiency-corrected Pfaffl ratio, for many genes.

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Western blot MW calculator

Upload a gel or blot, click the ladder and sample bands, and estimate protein sizes in kDa from a log-linear standard curve with R².

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ELISA standard curve analyzer

Fit an ELISA standard curve with a 4-parameter logistic (4PL), linear or log-log model, read unknown concentrations with dilution factors, and export.

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Questions about the tools

Are the LabCanvas tools free?

Yes. All 12 tools are free to use without an account, with no limits on use.

Is my data uploaded?

No. The tools run in your browser; images, Ct values, ODs and other inputs stay on your device. Inputs are remembered in your browser so they are still there next time.

How accurate are the calculators?

They use the standard formulas shown on each page with full floating-point precision; the ELISA 4PL fit uses the same Levenberg–Marquardt fitter as the LabCanvas Graphs app, which is validated against SciPy. Always check results against your protocol.

Can I use the results in a publication?

Yes. Exports (PNG, SVG, CSV) are yours to use. Cite the method (for example the Livak 2^−ΔΔCt method or a 4PL fit) rather than the tool.

Need more than a calculator?

LabCanvas is a free workspace for figures, slides, 3D models, protein structures and statistics.

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