iLabber

Contur Software AB

Reviewed by Evert Homan, Beactica AB, Sweden 

In September 2008, Beactica implemented iLabber, an electronic laboratory notebook (ELN) system available as an online service from Contur Software. iLabber is based on the company’s server-based enterprise ELN solution ConturELN. 

Being a small specialist drug discovery company, Beactica opted for a software as a service model, as it was much cheaper to implement with no up-front costs. 

This means that we have benefited from a full-scale ELN system without having to invest in any hardware, licenses or maintenance. As it is also fully scalable, more users can be easily added as the need grows. 

Getting started with iLabber was straightforward, as users only need to download the desktop client. The system is very intuitive and even users without previous experience with electronic lab notebooks were using iLabber directly.  

Our scientists have easy access to their own experiments, both ongoing and finished ones, in iLabber’s ’My Lab Notebook’. Colleagues’ notebooks and project notebooks are readily accessible in the notebook library. 

The search tool in iLabber is powerful, comprising a flexible free text search function that searches through all textual content in the experiments. Searching can also be done by chemical structure, project, date intervals and more. Chemical search capabilities are powered by ChemAxon’s JChem Cartridge.  

The Related Experiment section allows for creating cross-references between experiments, which is very helpful. By using the Share Experiment function colleagues can be invited to different workgroups and share experiments. Experiments can also be cloned and converted to user-sharable templates, which saves documentation time. 

A much appreciated function with the iLabber software is the digital countersigning option. Securing intellectual property in a reliable, tractable system is vital for Beactica’s business. As all experiment records are stored as PDF files, it doesn’t require the need to print and store submitted experiments on paper. All data is securely and confidentially backed up by Contur.