Biologists: How and Why to Choose a Digital Lab Notebook (ELN)

As scientific data grows exponentially and documentation rigor becomes more crucial than ever, the digital lab notebook—or ELN (Electronic Lab Notebook)—is becoming an essential tool for biologists.
But why switch to digital? And more importantly, how do you choose an ELN suited to your biological research needs?
This article guides you step by step.

🔍 Why Should Biologists Adopt a Digital Lab Notebook?

For years, the paper notebook has been the go-to tool in laboratories. Yet it quickly shows its limits in modern research environments that are collaborative, multi-instrument, and data-driven.
Here are a few key reasons to migrate to an ELN:

• Enhanced traceability: every modification is recorded, timestamped, and linked to a specific user.
• Data security: no more lost or damaged notebooks.
• Simplified search: quickly retrieve past experiments using keywords or filters.
• Improved collaboration: share experiments and results with colleagues, even remotely.
• Regulatory compliance: many standards now require digital, traceable, and secure documentation (GxP, ISO, FDA 21 CFR Part 11).

In biology—where protocols often evolve, results must be meticulously tracked, and data can be sensitive—these advantages quickly become essential needs.
(We also recommend reading this insightful article from the Institut Pasteur on the topic!)

🧾 The Limits of Paper Lab Notebooks

Despite their apparent simplicity, paper notebooks raise multiple challenges in modern biological environments:

• Risk of loss or damage (spilled liquids, torn pages, unsafe storage)
• Lack of traceability: difficult to know who modified what and when
• Limited sharing: notebooks are usually accessible to one person only
• Poor analytical capabilities: no search engine, no link between data and results
• Compliance difficulties: audits often require documentation levels that paper cannot guarantee

Switching to digital ensures your scientific work is secured, structured, and better valorized.

📊 Comparison: Paper Lab Notebook vs. Digital ELN

🧪 In Biology R&D: An ELN as a Catalyst for Innovation

Research and Development (R&D) teams in biology handle complex experimental protocols, documentation of results, and collaborative projects.
An ELN helps them:

• Track project progress in real time
• Easily reuse protocols or scripts
• Centralize multi-omics data and analyses
• Speed up report and publication generation

It becomes a knowledge management and monitoring tool for scientific leaders.

✅ In Quality Control: Digitalization to Reduce Errors

In quality control, documentation rigor is non-negotiable.
An ELN provides:

• Standardized and structured documentation
• Validated and reproducible processes
• Electronic signatures for validation
• Simplified audits through automatic traceability

This drastically reduces human errors and non-conformities.

🏭 In Production: Using ELNs to Track Batches and Standardize Procedures

In biological production environments (recombinant proteins, fermentation, cell culture, etc.), an ELN makes it possible to:

• Track production batches with exact conditions
• Compare reproducibility between runs
• Facilitate technology transfer
• Ensure documentation compliance with regulatory requirements

It becomes a key ally for operational quality and industrial scalability.

✅ Essential Features for a Biology-Oriented ELN

Not all ELNs are created equal.
If you’re a biologist, here’s what to look for:

• Ease of use: intuitive interface, even for non-technical users
• Support for scientific formats: tables, microscopy images, sequencing files, curves, annotated PDFs, etc.
• Integration with other tools: compatibility with your instruments or software (LIMS, bioinformatics tools, data storage systems)
• Collaborative features: comments, notifications, validation workflows, project management
• Security and compliance: secure hosting, access control, audit trail, versioning, electronic signature
• Adaptability: ability to add modules for specific needs (e.g., animal tracking, cell culture, biobank management, etc.)

🧠 How to Choose the Right ELN: Key Steps

Here’s a structured approach to selecting your digital lab notebook:

1. Identify your use cases: Are you in academic, clinical, or biotech research? Do you need to track only protocols, or also results, metadata, and materials?
2. Involve users: Biologists, engineers, and quality managers all have different expectations.
3. Compare solutions: Open-source, proprietary, off-the-shelf, or custom-built? Try demos of several options.
4. Check compliance: Ensure your ELN meets your field’s legal and ethical standards.
5. Consider scalability: Your ELN should grow with you—more data, users, or modules.

💡 Olympeis: An ELN Designed for Demanding Biologists

At Informatics for Bio-Companies, we developed Olympeis, a digital lab notebook designed by and for biologists.
Our goal? To combine simplicity, compliance, and adaptability.

With Olympeis, you can:

• Easily document your experiments, results, and observations
• Centralize your data, files, images, and scripts
• Collaborate in teams with differentiated access rights
• Save time with a clear and fluid interface
• Ensure compliance without compromising usability

Have specific needs? Our team can tailor Olympeis to your protocols, workflows, and existing tools.

👉 You can already try Olympeis for free right here.

📩 Want to Learn More?

Whether you’re exploring options or ready to take the next step, contact us for a personalized Olympeis demo.
See how the right ELN can truly transform the way you work in the lab.