Research team spending hours each week searching through paper notebooks and shared drives to find the experimental conditions used in a protocol that a new project wants to repeat or reference?
IP dispute where the invention date or the experimental evidence supporting a patent application is contested -- and the paper notebook entry is undated, unsigned, or relies on a witness who has since left the organisation?
Electronic Lab Notebook Development
A paper lab notebook provides a timestamped, witnessed record of research activity that has served as the foundation of IP protection and regulatory evidence for decades. An electronic lab notebook provides the same defensible record with searchable, structured data, instrument file attachment, and multi-researcher collaboration -- without the filing cabinet and without the risk of a notebook being lost or damaged.
Built with 21 CFR Part 11 compliance and IP defensibility as first principles, not afterthoughts. Timestamped entries, countersignature workflow, version control, and audit trail are designed into the data model from the start.
Structured experiment records replacing paper notebooks with searchable, version-controlled, electronically signed entries
Countersignature workflow for witnessed records supporting patent priority demonstration and IP protection
Instrument data attachment linking chromatograms, spectra, images, and raw data files to experiment records
21 CFR Part 11 compliant audit trail and electronic signature for GxP-regulated environments
RaftLabs builds custom electronic lab notebook (ELN) software for biotech and research organisations who need structured experiment records, version control, IP protection through timestamped and countersigned records, 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, multi-researcher collaboration, and instrument data attachment. Most ELN development projects deliver in 10 to 14 weeks at a fixed, agreed cost with full source code ownership.
100+Software products shipped
·FixedCost delivery
·10-14Week delivery cycles
·24+Industries served
Paper notebooks cannot be searched, shared, or backed up -- and they can be lost
The paper lab notebook has one genuine advantage: it is simple to use and requires no training. Its disadvantages accumulate quickly in a research environment with more than a handful of scientists. Notebooks cannot be searched -- finding a previous experiment requires knowing which notebook and approximately when. They cannot be shared between locations without physical transfer or photocopying. They can be damaged, lost, or taken when a researcher leaves. The witnessing process is often inconsistently applied, weakening the IP protection the countersignature is supposed to provide. And in a GMP-regulated environment, they cannot satisfy the electronic records requirements of 21 CFR Part 11.
A custom ELN built for your research workflows removes these constraints without adding the complexity burden that comes with configuring a large commercial ELN platform around processes it was not designed for. Experiment templates match your protocols. The data structure captures the fields your research generates. The search indexes the content your scientists need to find. And the compliance architecture -- audit trail, version control, electronic signatures -- is built to match your regulatory environment.
What we build
Structured experiment records
Experiment record capturing the title, project linkage, protocol reference, objective, materials and reagents used, equipment, experimental conditions, observations, results, and conclusions in a structured format designed around your research workflows. Experiment templates for each protocol type in your research programme, pre-populating the structural fields and reducing free-text entry to the variable data specific to the run. Rich text entry for observation and conclusions sections with table support, equation rendering, and image embedding. Step-by-step protocol recording where the experiment follows a defined sequence, with each step completed and timestamped individually. Experiment status tracking through draft, in-progress, pending countersignature, and completed states, with status visible to project supervisors across the team.
Version control and audit trail
Version control capturing every edit to an experiment record with the previous version retained and accessible -- who changed what, when, and what the original content was. No data deletion from signed records: amendments are recorded as a new version with the reason for the change, preserving the integrity of the original entry. Audit trail stored in an immutable log that cannot be altered by any user, including system administrators, meeting the data integrity requirements of 21 CFR Part 11 and the MHRA's data integrity guidance. Record lock on countersigned entries preventing modification without an explicit amendment workflow. Comparison view showing the difference between any two versions of an experiment record, supporting investigation when a result or condition needs to be verified against the original entry.
Countersignature and IP protection
Countersignature workflow requiring a second researcher to review and witness completed experiment entries, with their electronic signature applied to the record along with the date and time of witnessing. Witnessing queue presenting unsigned experiment records to designated witnesses in the order they were completed, supporting timely countersignature without a manual chase process. Countersignature audit trail showing the complete signature chain for each record -- author signature, witness signature, and any subsequent amendments -- stored in the immutable audit log. Invention disclosure linking from the experiment records that constitute the supporting evidence for a patent application, creating a documented chain from the experimental data to the IP claim. The witnessed, timestamped record that establishes experimental priority and demonstrates inventive step in a patent dispute.
Instrument data attachment
File attachment support for instrument exports, images, spectra, chromatograms, electrophoresis gels, microscopy images, and any other data file type generated by laboratory equipment. Attachment stored against the specific experiment entry and step, not in a separate document store that requires cross-referencing. Instrument data integrity: attached files stored with their original metadata and a hash to detect any subsequent modification, supporting data integrity requirements for regulated environments. Inline image display for image files and PDF attachments, so data is visible within the experiment record without opening a separate application. Instrument file parser for common formats -- CSV, JCAMP-DX, mzML -- extracting key parameters into searchable fields in the experiment record alongside the raw file attachment. Attachment version control where an instrument file is superseded by a reprocessed or corrected version.
Multi-researcher collaboration
Project-level organisation grouping experiment records, protocols, and reference documents for each research project, with access controlled by project membership. Multi-researcher contribution to a single experiment record, with each contributor's entries identified by their login identity and timestamped individually. Comment and annotation capability for reviewers and supervisors to add observations to a record without modifying the experimental content. Notification workflow alerting supervisors when a new experiment is ready for review or a record is pending countersignature. Read-only sharing with external collaborators or CRO partners with access limited to the specific project or experiment records they need, without giving access to unrelated research data. Contribution report showing each researcher's experiment record activity across a project for progress tracking and review.
Search and knowledge retrieval
Full-text search across all experiment records -- protocol names, reagent descriptions, instrument conditions, observations, and conclusions -- returning results across all projects the user has access to. Structured search filtering by project, researcher, date range, reagent, equipment, or experiment status. Reagent and material search showing every experiment in which a specific reagent lot or material was used -- useful for impact assessment when a reagent quality issue is identified after use. Saved search and report for recurring queries that researchers use regularly, stored and rerun without rebuilding the search criteria. Cross-reference linking between related experiment records, protocols, and reference documents, creating a navigable knowledge graph from the research data. Export of search results and experiment records to PDF for regulatory submissions, patent filings, or external reporting.
Frequently asked questions
21 CFR Part 11 applies to electronic records used to satisfy regulatory requirements. For pre-clinical research that feeds into IND or NDA submissions, the records are regulatory records and the system should be validated. For basic research with no current regulatory submission pathway, the compliance requirement may not yet apply -- but building the audit trail and electronic signature capability in from the start is significantly cheaper than retrofitting it when the research reaches a regulatory stage. We scope the compliance architecture based on your current regulatory status and your anticipated regulatory pathway.
Yes. Common integrations include sample data from LIMS flowing into experiment records -- the sample identifier, sample type, and analytical results linked to the experiment without re-entry -- and experiment records linking to project management or document management systems. The integration scope depends on what systems you have and their integration capability, which is assessed during discovery. Where full integration is not justified, a structured export/import is an alternative.
The ELN is a web application accessible from any location with appropriate credentials. Access controls are configured at the project level so each researcher sees the projects they are working on regardless of their location. For organisations with strict data residency requirements, the deployment can be configured to keep data within the required geographic region. Multi-site collaboration within a single experiment record -- where researchers in different locations contribute to the same protocol run -- is supported through the contribution tracking and notification workflow.
A focused build covering structured experiment records, version control, countersignature workflow, instrument file attachment, and search typically runs $35,000 to $70,000. Adding 21 CFR Part 11 compliance with full validation documentation, LIMS integration, and multi-site collaboration capability typically brings the total to $70,000 to $130,000. Fixed cost agreed before development starts, no hourly billing.
Talk to us about your electronic lab notebook project.
Tell us your research workflows, your regulatory environment, and the IP protection requirements your organisation has. We'll scope an ELN built around your actual laboratory practice and give you a fixed cost.
