title: ChemTrove: enabling a generic ELN to support chemistry through the use of transferable plug-ins and online data sources.
abstract: In designing an Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN), there is a balance to be struck between keeping it as general and multidisciplinary as possible for simplicity of use and maintenance and introducing more domain-specific functionality to increase its appeal to target research areas. Here, we describe the results of a collaboration between the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the University of Southampton, guided by the aims of the Dial-a-Molecule Grand Challenge, intended to achieve the best of both worlds and augment a discipline-agnostic ELN, LabTrove, with chemistry-specific functionality and using data provided by the ChemSpider platform. This has been done using plug-in technology to ensure maximum transferability with minimal effort of the chemistry functionality to other ELNs and equally other subject-specific functionality to LabTrove. The resulting product, ChemTrove, has undergone a usability trial by selected academics, and the resulting feedback will guide the future development of the underlying ELN technology.
authors: †Royal Society of Chemistry, Thomas Graham House, Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 0WF, United Kingdom.
authors: Aileen E
authors: AE
authors: Day
authors: ‡Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
authors: Simon J
authors: SJ
authors: Coles
authors: ‡Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
authors: Colin L
authors: CL
authors: Bird
authors: ‡Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
authors: Jeremy G
authors: JG
authors: Frey
authors: ‡Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom.
authors: Richard J
authors: RJ
authors: Whitby
authors: §Royal Society of Chemistry, 904 Tamaras Circle, Wake Forest, North Carolina 27587, United States.
authors: Valery E
authors: VE
authors: Tkachenko
authors: §Royal Society of Chemistry, 904 Tamaras Circle, Wake Forest, North Carolina 27587, United States.
authors: Antony J
authors: AJ
authors: Williams
mesh_terms: D002621:Chemistry / Q000379:methods*; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval; D020407:Internet; D007753:Laboratories; D012984:Software