Research Guides: A Guide to Chemistry Resources: Chemistry Resources

Frequently Used Resources

Frequently Used Databases

SciFinder-n (1907 - )
SciFinder-n is the most comprehensive database for coverage of chemistry & chemical engineering. Sources include 10,000 journals, patents from 61 patent authorities, book chapters, conference proceedings, dissertations, evaluated reference works, technical reports, as well as book reviews and biographical information. Learn more about this database. NOTE: Requires user registration. Follow this link to register using your Washington University email address - Registration for SciFinder. Learn about using this database off campus .

For additional help along with step by step instructions for registering and logging into SciFinder, click here!

Reaxys
For students in Organic Chemistry. Search by reaction, substance, and/or numeric property data. Integrates all chemical information from the former Beilstein and Gmelin databases. For more information see this Reaxys Overview or Reaxys Quick Reference Guide .
Web of Science (1900 - )
Science, social science, arts, and humanities citations for scholarly literature.

Google Scholar
Search for your reference on Google Scholar. Look for and click the “Get It! @ WU” link next to each result, not the article title. Use the "Get It! @ WU" link to get the full text via the Libraries’ subscriptions

Find a complete list of chemistry databases provided through the library.

Database and Reference Quick Links

Cambridge Structural Database (WebCSD) To download database, click "more" (below) for instructions. Must enable JavaScript to use. Contains crystal structure information for over 220,000 organic and metal organic compounds.  To receive your copy of the software, click here. For the site number and confirmation code needed to download the software, click here.
Chemical Abstracts (via SciFinder Web) Covers journals in chemistry and related fields.Provides access to the Chemical Abstracts and other databases, covering journals in chemistry and related fields. Note: Available on the web, with an individual logon, using your Washington University email address. Registration for SciFinder
CHEMnetBASE A collection of chemistry reference works including: Combined Chemical Dictionary (CCD); The Handbook of Chemistry & Physics; Polymers: A Property Database; Properties of Organic Compounds; and CRCPress Periodic Table Online.
ChemIDplus Structure and nomenclature authority files used for the identification of chemical substances cited in National Library of Medicine (NLM) databases; provides links to many biomedical resources at National Library of Medicine (NLM) and on the Internet for chemicals of interest ranging from helpful drugs to potentially hazardous chemicals.  Learn more about this database.
Chemistry WebBook (NIST) Provides thermochemical, thermophysical, and ion energetics data compiled by NIST under the Standard Reference Data program.
Crystallography Open Database An open-access collection of crystal structures of organic, inorganic, metal-organic compounds and minerals, excluding biopolymers.
Inorganic Crystal Structure Database FIZ Karlsruhe provides the scientific and the industrial community with the world's largest database for completely identified inorganic crystal structures, ICSD, containing about 193,000 peer-reviewed data entries including their atomic coordinates dating back to 1913.As the world’s leading provider of scientific information on inorganic crystal structures, we take full responsibility for database production, maintenance and quality control, and we ensure that the ICSD database and our software solutions meet the highest possible quality standards.At present, the ICSD contains more than 193,000 entries, including:2,522 crystal structures of the elements36,659 records for binary compounds70,881 records for ternary compounds69,900 records for quarternary and quintenary compoundsAbout 154,000 entries (80%) have been assigned a structure type. There are currently 9,004 structure prototypes.Note: you will need a username and password to access this database. Details can be found by clicking here.

Merck Index For over 120 years The Merck Index has been regarded as the most authoritative and reliable source of information on chemicals, drugs and biologicals. Now this trusted resource is available online from the Royal Society of Chemistry.
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This index can be used for basic substance searches; access to tables and reaction searches are not currently supported through the library. However, a physical copy of the Merck Index can be accessed in person at the library.

Protein Data Bank Information about experimentally-determined structures of proteins, nucleic acids, and complex assemblies.
Pub Chem National Library of Medicine database.
PubMed (1946 - ) Over 3,500 journals published internationally, covering all areas of medicine. Includes the entire Medline database (1966+) PLUS PreMedline (recent articles that are not yet fully indexed for Medline) and links to publisher full-text web sites and other databases. Learn more about this database.
Scopus The world’s largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature. Contains over 46 million records, 70% with abstracts, and also includes over 4.6 million conference papers. NOTE: Click "Institutions" icon in right corner. Change organization to Washington University in St Louis John M Olin Library, Danforth Campus.
Spectral Database For Organic Compounds (SDBS) An integrated spectral database system for organic compounds, which includes 6 different types of spectra under a directory of the compounds. Since 1997, SDBS has opened to the public with free of charge through TACC (Tsukuba Advanced Computing Center) as RIO-DB (Research Information Data Base). The six spectra are as follows, an electron impact Mass spectrum (EI-MS), a Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FT-IR), a 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum, a 13C NMR spectrum, a laser Raman spectrum, and an electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrum.

Click for a complete list of chemistry databases

A Guide to Chemistry Resources

WU Chemistry Dept

Chemistry Subject Librarian

Frequently Used Resources

Database and Reference Quick Links

Other Library Resources