Rebooting Application Notes

How did AppsLab begin?

The Thermo Scientific™ AppsLab Library of Analytical Applications takes the next logical step in providing you with the information you need in your lab. Not only does it allow you free access – through an intelligent search and filter system – to nearly 2000 applications (and growing) from Thermo Fisher Scientific’s huge team of scientists, it also enriches newer app notes with the eWorkflows used to create them. Here, we speak with Product Manager Susanne Kramer to find out more.

AppsLab has been your ‘baby’ for two years...

That’s right. I joined Thermo Fisher Scientific to start working on AppsLab in 2014 and was immediately excited by the novel approach. It essentially follows many other trends in our increasingly online world. If you like cooking, you will have no doubt recognized the advantages of online recipes over traditional cookbooks; not only do they give you detailed access to ingredients and methods, but they also allow you to rate what you’ve tried and leave comments for others, meaning that recipes can be improved by the community. AppsLab offers that same level of interaction, but goes another step forward by providing users with eWorkflows that connect them directly to the actual methods and processes used – analogous to a recipe taking control of your food processor and setting the temperature and timing of your oven (although analytical ‘recipes’ are significantly more complex!).

As product manager, it is my role to constantly consider what our customers need and what they are interested in; in fact, my initial discussions with customers are still shaping ongoing developments. I also spend a lot of my time supporting our application chemists around the world, helping them add their content to the ever-growing library. And I listen to feedback – both internal and external – to ensure that we can continually improve AppsLab. I’m also responsible for expanding it into many more techniques and instrument types. It’s a constantly evolving tool in that respect.

How would you describe AppsLab in a Tweet

“An online portal for easy access to rich application content with eWorkflow integration. Methods, workflows and more! #oneclickworkflow”

How can people interact with AppsLab?

A user would begin by searching for an application they are interested in. You could start by entering the name of a compound and a matrix, which would retrieve a list of relevant application notes that can be further filtered by other parameters, such as instrument type (currently LC, IC, GC, GC-MS and LC-MS) or even method run time – it’s really very intuitive. Once you’ve found an application note, you gain access to a lot of information; for example, a list of compounds and retention times, a detailed method, the system setup (including columns and consumables), sample preparation steps. At this stage, you don’t need to register – it’s freely available to anyone who wants to use it. If an eWorkflow is available, you can register (for free), directly download the file, and be up and running with just one click.

In some cases, you may find an application, but still have additional questions, in which case you can “Ask the Expert.” Your question will be forwarded to the author of the application or another member of the team. If you don’t find a specific application, you can also use AppsLab to suggest one.

Finally, as noted earlier, you can also comment on applications – perhaps providing other users with useful advice – and even share applications (or searches) with colleagues through social media or email. We’ve tried to make it as open and useful as we possibly can.

How will AppsLab evolve over the coming months?

We’ve very recently given AppsLab a new look and feel, which makes it even more user friendly. In the near future, I think users can also expect to see integration with eCommerce to make the purchase of columns and consumables in specific applications a much simpler experience (AppsLab already includes part numbers).
Right now, chromatography is very well represented, so another big focus area will be the inclusion of more mass spectroscopy information.

What, for you, is the ‘wow’ feature?

As much as I love AppsLab as a whole, I would have to say that it’s the Thermo Scientific™ Chromeleon™  eWorkflow integration that really makes it stand out from the crowd. And I should add that an eWorkflow is much more than a method. In addition to the instrument method, eWorkflows can also include data processing steps and a report template that includes embedded calculations. eWorkflows hold the potential for huge time savings for our customers.

The initial idea was relatively simple. We have around 400 experts at Thermo Fisher Scientific, working on customer-relevant and interesting applications. Those application notes traditionally get turned into PDFs and hosted somewhere on the website – but the customer isn’t always able to find relevant applications easily. We wanted to change that. We started thinking about the best way to put our application expertise into the hands of our customers. We recognized that some kind of online tool would help a great deal. And when we talked about the idea internally and sensed some excitement, it became clear that it could be so much more. I remember someone saying, “We should aim to be the iTunes of the application world!” An ambitious vision, and one that we are still working on – but I genuinely feel like we are moving in the right direction. The ability to rate applications – or even suggest new ones – offers a level of interaction that hasn’t existed before.

If Susanne’s ‘baby’ is AppsLab, yours is Chromeleon – eWorkflows appear to bring them together...

The eWorkflow integration really is the trump card of AppsLab. Chromeleon allows you to wrap an entire analytical method – from acquisition parameters through processing to the final report template – in a single file. They are easy to create, and even easier to use. Coupling those eWorkflows to specific searchable applications gives our customers a new way to interact with an outstanding Chromeleon feature. In routine environments, this is a huge benefit. It’s also perfect for those labs with experienced staff who are introducing a new technique; ready made workflows can get you up and running almost immediately. And of course, all of the methods can be modified; if you’re working on something new, you could at least use a similar application as a base, meaning that you don’t have to start from scratch.

Where will AppsLab take us in the coming years?

One ambitious plan is to make another logical leap forward. In addition to searching and accessing application information and downloading eWorkflows in AppsLab, we’d like it to evolve into a predictive tool, which will be particularly useful for people working with novel compounds. If a compound isn’t in the library, we can at least take a look at similar compounds and start to build a potential method around that. For IC, there is already a “virtual column” where a separation can be simulated – and while that will not be possible for certain techniques, I can see that we have a lot of room to grow in this area. It’s ambitious, but achievable – and while it is unlikely to become fully predictive, some information is almost always better than none at all!

Another area that I would really like us at Thermo Fisher Scientific to push – and for the community to embrace – is the potential for sharing applications through social media. To that end, I call on everyone to explore what AppsLab has to offer, but then to share, comment and interact – with each other and with us. Together, we can make AppsLab shine!

Check out AppsLab at thermofisher.com/appslab for “Methods, workflows, and more”