Replacing pen and paper in the analytical laboratory

In this application note from Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, the importance of efficiently handling and storing the large amount of data generated during the synthesis and analysis of organic compounds is discussed. Traditional pen and paper methods create the "File Drawer Effect" where data is lost, making it difficult to search and share. Electronic Lab Notebooks (ELNs) offer a solution, but commercially available ELNs can be inflexible and unable to handle the variety of data formats generated by different instruments. The Spectrus^® Platform from Advanced Chemistry Development, inc. (ACD/Labs) is a vendor-neutral analytical software environment that can collect and merge all data into databases that can be accessed directly via a user-optimized interface. The software is able to process and interpret analytical data from different instruments in a homogeneous interface and allows for the exchange of data across departments.