Experiments
Design, run and record lab experiments
From hypothesis to result, every step captured and linked. NextLabs gives you structured experiment entries, rich notes, status tracking, and a full audit trail from raw data to published finding.
Overview
Step 3
Gel Electrophoresis
Run 1% agarose gel at 90 V for 35 min. Include 100 bp ladder in lane 1.
Attached Protocols
PCR Standard v2
Completed5 steps · Reagent Setup → Imaging & Analysis
Notes
Progress
Assigned
Sarah Chen
Lead researcher
Priya Nair
Technician
Comments
Gel image looks clean. Proceeding to quantification.
Structured logging
Record conditions, steps, and results with typed fields — no more free-form spreadsheets.
Protocol linking
Attach the exact protocol version used. Reproducibility is built in, not bolted on.
Status tracking
Draft → Running → Completed. Know where every experiment stands at a glance.
Full audit trail
Every edit is versioned. See who changed what and when, always.
Built for the bench
Log entries directly from the bench on any device. Attach files, photos, and notes inline without breaking your workflow.
Team visibility
Project members see live experiment status. Comment, review, and flag entries for follow-up without leaving the platform.
Export and publish
Export structured data to CSV or PDF. Full traceability from raw entry to final report.
Built for real lab workflows
Cell culture and passaging
Log passage number, confluence, media batch, and contamination checks in a structured form. Pull last week's records side by side to spot drift before it becomes a confound.
Drug screening and dose-response
Capture compound IDs, concentrations, plate layouts, and read-outs in one entry. Link the source plate map and reagent lots so anyone can replay the run six months later.
Protein expression and purification
Track induction conditions, harvest dates, lysis buffers, and yield at each step. Attach SDS-PAGE images and chromatograms inline — no more searching three folders for the right gel.
Mass spec and analytical runs
Record instrument settings, sample queue, calibration standards, and raw file paths. Every parameter that matters for reproducibility lives next to the result, not in a separate notebook.
Works with your existing tools
Experiments connect to the rest of your lab without lock-in. Pull data in from the tools you already use, push results out to your downstream pipeline, and keep the canonical record in NextLabs.
- CSV and Excel import for plate readers, qPCR, and analytical instruments
- Direct file attachments from instrument workstations
- PDF and Word export for grant reports and publications
- Google Drive and Cloudflare R2 for raw data files
- REST API for custom pipelines and Jupyter notebooks
- Markdown export for moving entries into Notion, Confluence, or static sites
Frequently asked questions
Can I import experiments from another ELN?
Yes. We can ingest CSV, JSON, Word, or PDF dumps from most ELN platforms. Structured fields are mapped automatically and free-form notes are preserved as rich text. Migrations of a few hundred entries take an afternoon.
Who owns the data we log?
You do. Your organization is the sole owner of every experiment, attachment, and audit log. We never use customer data to train models or sell to third parties. You can export the full dataset at any time, in machine-readable formats.
Is NextLabs GLP / 21 CFR Part 11 compliant?
We provide the building blocks — versioning, immutable audit trails, role-based access, and electronic signatures on every change. Compliance always depends on your SOPs and validation, but every record meets the technical requirements regulators check for.
How do you handle large attachments — gels, microscopy, raw spectra?
Files are uploaded directly to Cloudflare R2 with presigned URLs, so transfer speed is bounded by your connection, not our servers. There is no per-file size limit in practice. Files stay linked to the experiment that referenced them.
Can offline-only labs still use it?
An on-prem deployment is available for labs that cannot use cloud storage — same product, your infrastructure, your network rules. Talk to us if regulated data, classified work, or strict on-prem policies apply to your team.