Discover What's New in LabCollector v6.24!

🧪 1. Reagents & Supplies: Smarter Inventory Management

Imagine this: you’re managing an ever-growing list of chemicals and reagents, each with specific use cases, safety requirements, and stock levels. LabCollector v6.24 helps you keep everything organized:

Shared SKUs Across Compatible Products: If you have multiple reagents with similar properties (like various grades of ethanol or buffers from different suppliers), you can now group them under one SKU “Stock-Keeping Unit“. This makes tracking stock levels easier and reduces ordering errors.

Cart-Based Compatible Records: Let’s say you’re preparing a PCR run and realize you need a DNA polymerase. The system now displays all compatible records in your inventory cart, so you can choose from different brands or lots without scrolling through endless lists.

PubChem Data Integration: Automatically import and autofill Globally Harmonized System (GHS) safety information directly from PubChem when creating or editing records, provided they have a valid CAS number. This ensures your lab’s safety documentation is accurate and up-to-date.

Flexible Product Replacement in Orders: In the Purchase Order Manager (POM), you now have the option to replace a product in an order with another product that has the same SKU. This feature provides greater flexibility and ensures that orders are filled with the correct items.

🔍 2. GMP Compliance: Stay Audit-Ready

For labs working under strict regulations, like a pharmaceutical QA/QC lab or a manufacturing facility, compliance can be a headache. LabCollector v6.24 introduces key features to make this easier, available exclusively when the Compliancy Pack is active:

GMP/Non-GMP Status Tracking: Need to ensure that only GMP-compliant reagents are used for a critical batch? Now you can tag each item in your inventory as GMP or non-GMP, so there’s no confusion during audits or production runs.

Automatic Lot Quarantine: when a lot is received for a GMP-compliant reagent, it will automatically get placed on-hold/quarantine. For example, when receiving a new lot of cell culture media, the system can automatically place it in quarantine until QC tests confirm it’s ready for use.

You also have the option to activate the automatic quarantine on new lots whether they are for GMP or non-GMP reagents (as shown in the screenshot below).

🖨️ 3. Customizable Label Printing

Every lab professional knows the frustration of poorly printed labels—illegible barcodes, missing details, or labels peeling off in cold storage. LabCollector v6.24 takes the stress out of labeling:

Customizable Barcode Alignment: If you’re labeling a batch of cryovials for a biobank, you can now adjust barcodes for perfect scanner readability, even in tight spaces.

Risk Field Integration: Label chemical bottles with critical hazard information (e.g., “Corrosive” or “Flammable”) and add corresponding pictograms for immediate safety compliance.
Default and Module-Specific Templates: Labs processing thousands of blood samples daily, for example, can now use pre-set templates specific to their workflow, saving time and minimizing errors.

You can link your template to a specific module or set it by default for all modules/add-ons (as shown in the above screenshot). When linked to a module, all templates previously assigned to that module will appear at the top of the list and will be highlighted for easy access.

📋 4. Recipe Management: Adaptable for Every Lab

From academic research to industrial R&D, preparing solutions and reagents is part of everyday life. LabCollector v6.24 makes it easier to:

Destock Freely: If you’re preparing 50 liters of cell culture media and one lot of FBS isn’t enough, you can now destock from multiple lots (sharing the same “SKU”) in one go.

Simply when you create a new recipe in Admin -> Manage Recipes, you can now add a module step and select the Reagents & Supplies module. In the action dropdown, choose “destock freely” to enable a more flexible selection of products for the recipe. Once this action is selected, the middle dropdown menu, which links to records, will automatically display a list of all products that share the same SKU number. This feature makes it easier to choose the specific product variant you need, whether based on brand, supplier, or other preferences, ensuring precise inventory management during the recipe creation process.

🧬 5. Enhanced BLAST Tool: A Researcher’s Dream

For molecular biology labs running sequence alignments, LabCollector v6.24’s updated BLAST tool is a game-changer. Picture this:

You’ve sequenced a new microbial isolate and need to identify potential gene homologs. The revamped interface allows you to run nt or MegaBLAST searches with greater speed, customization, and with a completely new and advanced interface, allowing you to quickly align sequences with just a few clicks.

🐾 6. Animal Module: Better Care, Better Science

Animal research labs often juggle the logistics of cage management, breeding, and compliance. LabCollector v6.24 simplifies this with:

Improved Cage Activity Logs: For example, if your team needs to monitor cage cleaning schedules or enrichment activities for mice, these logs provide a detailed history of all actions performed on the animal.
Automatic Crossing Updates: When breeding transgenic animals, crossings and offspring are now tracked automatically, reducing paperwork and ensuring accurate lineage records.

🔔 7. Upgraded Alerts & Tracking

How often have you discovered an expired reagent or low stock level just when you need it most? LabCollector v6.24 keeps you ahead of the game:

Expiring and Expired Lot Alerts: For example, if a batch of antibodies is about to expire, the system notifies you so you can prioritize its use.

💡 8. In-App Pop-Ups: Stay Connected

Communication can be tricky in busy labs, but LabCollector v6.24 helps teams stay in sync, these new interactive prompts let you share your thoughts to help improve LabCollector, and receive quick updates or reminders directly within the app.

With just a click, you can engage and contribute to making your LabCollector experience even better!

🔐 9. Security Enhancements

LabCollector v6.24 introduces important security upgrades to ensure your data is safe and protected:

Automatic SSO Domain Integration: The system now automatically adds your Single Sign-On (SSO) provider domain to the Content-Security-Policy, strengthening security and ensuring smoother login processes.
Improved CSRF Token Protection: We’ve enhanced the login CSRF token, adding an extra layer of protection against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks, ensuring safer user authentication.

🎨 10. UI/UX Improvements

We’ve made several updates to enhance your user experience and improve the overall flow of LabCollector:

Active Menu State: The menu now clearly highlights the active state, making it easier to navigate through the system and find what you need.
Lot ID Translation: We’ve refined the Lot ID translation for greater accuracy, ensuring that all data is represented correctly.
QuickDestock Project Field: The project field now supports autocompletion and includes project color features, allowing for quicker and more intuitive project selection.