Searching theChemical Literature

Information Available in the Literature

• Physical constants– Melting point, boiling point, density, solubility data, toxicity

data, refractive index.

• Synthesis pathways

• Experimental procedures

• Spectroscopy data– FTIR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, MS, UV-VIS

Where to Search

• Google scholar

• PubMed

• Reference books

– Merck Index

– CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics

– March

Merck Index• One-volume encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs

and biologicals that contains more than 10,000 monographs.

• Each monograph is a concise description of a single substance or a small group of closely related compounds.

• Since 1889, The Merck Index has become the standard reference for chemists, biochemists, pharmacologists, pharmacists, and related professionals.

Merck Index• human and veterinary drugs • biotech drugs and monoclonal antibodies • substances used for medical imaging • biological and natural products • plants and herbal medicines • nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals • agricultural chemicals • industrial chemicals • laboratory reagents and catalysts • dyes, colors and indicators • environmentally significant substances

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics

• The Table of Physical Constants for Organic Compounds:• Listed in alphabetical order by parent name.

– For 2-phenylethanol

Ethanol-2-phenyl

• The Table of Physical Constants for Organic Compounds:– Boiling points, etc.

CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics

Other Sources

• Chemical Abstracts (http://www.cas.org/) • Beilstein/Reaxys

(http://www.elsevier.com/online-tools/reaxys)

• SciFinder Scholar• Journal articles/Databases– ACS Publications– GALILEO (Current Contents: JACS, JOC)– JStor (Science)

Spectroscopy Databases

• National Institute of Standards and Technology

Chemistry WebBook– Mass Spectrometry and Infrared Spectroscopy data,

thermochemical data, and much, much more.

• Spectral Data Base System for Organic Compounds

(SDBS)– Huge searchable database of spectra, including IR, NMR, and

MS.

Safety Information

• Vermont SIRI MSDS Collection– Provides access to Material Safety Data Sheets

directly from chemical manufacturers and from an online database. Chemical Toxicity reports can also be found at this site.