Searching for Organic Chemistry Information

Prepared for Chemistry 231L: Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Fall 2006

Information in organic chemistry can be divided in to two large classes: factual and descriptive. Factual information is data such as boiling points, solubility in organic solvents, disassociation constants, or other simple pieces of information. Descriptive information may be synthetic pathways, enzymatic action, reaction kinetics, or a 3D structure. The paths for finding this information are different and usually employ different sets of information tools. Data are usually found through using handbooks, published compilations of data. Descriptive information generally requires a search of the published journal literature. The finding tools can be either print or electronic, and may lead you to print or electronic-based resources.

Finding Data | Finding Literature | Help

Finding Data

Start with some of the classic print resources:

• CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (QD 65 .H3 87th ed. 2006/07 Reference Desk)
• Lange's Handbook of Chemistry (TP 151 .H25 16th ed. 2005 Reference)
• Merck Index (RS 51 .M4 2001 Reference Desk)
• Dictionary of Organic Compounds (QD 246 .D53 1996 Reference)

Electronic sources to try include:

• ChemFinder (free)
• NIST Data Gateway: Property Search (free)
• ChemIDplus (free)
• SciFinder Scholar (not free; more on this resource later)

Two great online indexes to property data are:

• Index to Physical, Chemical and Other Property Data (from the Noble Science and Engineering Library at Arizona State University)
• ThermoDex: An Index of Selected Thermodynamic and Physical Property Resources (from the Mallet Chemistry Library at the University of Texas, Austin)

And when all else fails:

Beilstein's Handbook of Organic Chemistry / Beilsteins Handbuch der organische Chemie (QD 251 .B4 1918 5th Floor Books Stacks - non-circulating)

Finding Literature

While the assignment focuses on SciFinder Scholar and Web of Science, there are other databases available. Descriptions of these are found on the Chemistry Article Databases and Electronic Resources page.

Web of Science is a multidisciplinary database, which includes 1600 chemistry journals. It can be searched by author, keyword, cited reference, or institution. It covers to 1900 to the present.

SciFinder Scholar is the premier online service for chemistry. It is a suite of six inter-linked databases. They are:

• CAPlus - the online version of Chemical Abstracts, covering some 9,500 journals in all areas of chemistry plus related patents, dissertations, books, and conference proceedings from 1907 to date. Some material prior to 1907 has also been loaded.
• CAS Registry - coverage from 1957+; basic information on over 27 million organic and inorganic compounds.
• CASREACT - reaction information on over 9 million single- and multi-step reactions.
• CHEMLIST - identifies 200,00 plus regulated chemicals.
• CHEMCATS - catalog of 8 million commercially available compounds and their suppliers.
• Medline - references to the medical journal literature from 1950 to present.

SciFinder Scholar is currently available only on campus. You must download special software to use it. Support materials including tutorials are available from CAS.

Help

Assistance for SDSU students, faculty, and staff in looking for chemical information is available from C. Anne Turhollow, Life Sciences Librarian.

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