Keeping track of thousands of chemicals in a research lab is not a trivial task. Specialized inventory software does exist. However, such software is often focused squarely on regulatory compliance, and is perceived by end users as a burdensome layer of digital bureaucracy. Laboratories in academia are especially likely to keep vital inventory records in ordinary spreadsheets, or even on paper. Recently, we introduced Ariadne, a web application combining a chemical inventory with an electronic lab notebook (ELN). Ariadne assigns the location of every chemical semi-randomly, based on storage compatibility rules. The system reveals the item location only after the item has been checked out by the user. Mandatory checkout ensures item movement is tracked in real time, with no extra effort from users. Ariadne utilizes our JavaScript chemical structure editor, ChemWidget, to enable structure input in any web browser. This presentation will describe our experience in developing chemical software for the modern web.

Ariadne: A next generation chemical inventory and ELN web application

246th National Meeting (2013)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.