An Electronic Lab Notebook also known as Electronic Laboratory Notebook or ELN is a software tool designed to replace paper laboratory notebooks. According to Sapio Sciences (https://www.sapiosciences.com) they are used by technicians, engineers, and scientists to document observations, protocols, experience, and research conducted in laboratories. Some ELNs can also keep track of equipment maintenance schedules as well as manage inventories of reagents, samples, and other supplies.
Since the 90s, articles on digitisation have predicted the imminent, widespread adoption of ELNs by scientists. It is yet to happen but more and more researchers are taking the plunge.
In this post, we will discuss the benefits of an electronic lab notebook and how to choose one.
How You Can Benefit From Using An ELN
1. Paper replacement
Laboratories without an ELN are most likely to use excel spreadsheets and a lot of paper to carry out their work. Installing an ENL helps laboratories to go paperless. Replacing paper lab notebook with an ENL can prevent data loss and transcription errors. Other benefits include the elimination of haphazard record storage, damaged paper notebooks, and improved availability of experimental data. Scientists can also access their research work easily from their smartphones, tablets, and other devices that can connect to ENLs.
2. Organization
Electronic lab notebooks come with features that help to keep your laboratory data organized. With an ENL you can easily search for a procedure you followed on an experiment you did months or years ago and find it within seconds. In addition to being searchable, most ENL interfaces allow you to automatically timestamp a step in your protocol. This is invaluable for repeat experiments and having a trail of steps in case your work is audited for publication.
3. Work locally and share globally
Paper notebooks are nearly impossible to share among group projects and research collaborations. With an ENL, scientists can easily share data and documentation with collaborators and group members. Most programs allow multiple users to edit a single notebook and share data with granular access permissions. A great plus is that some of the programs have a messaging tool that allows colleagues to send messages to other users or set up reminders and alerts.
When implemented correctly, this tool facilitates interoperability which revolutionizes how researchers conduct experiments and manage their data.
4. Eligibility for patent
Protecting intellectual property is a major concern for managers in R&D environments. ENLs ensure each experiment is digitally recorded and secured with access being granted on a need-to-know basis. What’s more, all data is time-stamped, changes recorded and e-signatures applied. The audit trail and controls can be used to meet both legal and regulatory requirements when data is being used for patent submissions.
Selecting An ELN For Your Lab
There is no “one-size-fits-all” ENL. You will need to consider some factors before selecting the electronic research notebook software that best suits your laboratory’s needs. Below are the factors to consider when choosing a software solution:
1. Specific features needed
There are some useful features that every ELN software solution should have. At its most basic level, an electronic lab notebook must be able to create, store, import, and retrieve data in digital form. The interface should feature a text processor, a spreadsheet tool, mobile device compatibility, a search function, and the ability to import images and add annotations.
Other features will depend on the type of research you do and other specific add-ons such as a dashboard overview or discussion feature.
2. Legal issues
Research labs looking to commercialize and patent their work undergo more scrutiny when it comes to best practices, standards, and regulations. Important legal considerations include ISO certification, FDA 21 CFR Part 11, and GLP Compliance.
It is therefore important to ensure that the electronic lab notebook you choose is compliant with all these standards and regulations.
3. Evaluate stability
Be sure to go for an ELN company that has a history of long-term stability. Choose a company that has been in business for at least five years and has a proven track record of satisfied clients. Also consider a company that has the best software development practices, states its terms of service, has stable funding and reliable tech support, security, maintenance, and upgrades.
4. Data storage
Perhaps one of the most important factors to consider when selecting an ELN is where you want to store your data. The most common data storage option is cloud-computing solutions. With this solution, your data is stored on a cloud server often hosted on Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services. Another more conservative but popular storage option is an on-premise, self-hosted server. Unlike a cloud server, an on-premise server is dedicated only to your organization and you have full control of all security protocols and settings.
5. Ease of use
The solution you choose should have a well-designed and user-friendly interface. This will help reduce barriers for integration, increase team adoption and reduce the learning curve of the team.
