American Chemical Society
Teaching Chemical Information:
Tips and Techniques
— August 1998 —
Integrated In-Class Presentation
Sources of Basic Organic Compound Information
This table provides a matrix showing what resources contain what data. Use it as a shortcut to guide your initial search for information on organic substances. Both the type of compound (is it common, or unusual? simple or complex? recently synthesized, or hypothetical? biologically active?) AND the type of data needed (physical or chemical properties? synthesis procedures? safety information?) will influence your choice of sources. As a rule, start with the simpler, one-volume sources like the CRC and Merck; then progress to larger, more complex sources as needed. Remember that they're all arranged differently, use different nomenclature systems, and contain different points of data. This listing is also very basic — there are many other sources available for consultation in the reference collection and online. The Organic Synthesis pages list others.
This table doesn't list sources for thermodynamic or thermochemical data.
| Data | Indexes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mol. Form. | Struct. Form. | Props. | Synth. | Lit. Cites | Beil. Cite | CAS RN | Uses / Descr. | Safety | Spectral | Name / Syn. | MF | RN | |
| CRC* | N | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | N | N | N | Y | N |
| Merck Index* | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y |
| Aldrich Catalog* | Y | Y | Y | N | Y(1) | Y | Y | N | Y | N(2) | N | Y | N |
| DOC* | Y | Y | Y | N | Y | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y |
| HODOC* | Y | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Sigma Catalog*(3) | Y | N | N | N | ? | N | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | N |
| MSDS (UTCAT) | Y | N | Y | N | Y(4) | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y | N | Y |
| Beilstein | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | -- | N | N | N | ? | Y | Y | N |
| Org. Synth. | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | N | N | Y | N | N | Y | Y | N |
| Hawley's | Y | ? | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | N |
| S/A Safety* | Y | Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | ? | Y | N | Y | Y | Y |
| CA Index Guide* | N | ? | N | N | N | N | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | N |
| CA CSI | Y | N | N | N | Y | N | Y | N | N | N | -- | N | N |
Key
Y = Yes; N = No; ? = Sometimes
S/A = Sigma-Aldrich
CA CSI = Chemical Abstracts, Chemical Substance Indexes
Notes
(1) Cites other Sigma-Aldrich sources (Spectra, Safety),
Fieser's Reagents for Organic Synthesis, and Beilstein.
(2) Cites Sigma-Aldrich Spectra collections: IR, FT-IR, NMR.
(3) Biological compounds only
(4) Gives CODENs to toxicological studies only.
Important: Chemical nomenclature varies widely among these sources. Don't trust the names!
Locations of Sources
( * ) Sources marked with an asterisk are located on the Handbook Tables.
CRC = CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics.
DOC = Dictionary of Organic Compounds (Heilbron)
HODOC = Handbook of Data on Organic Compounds, 3rd ed.
(Also available on CD-ROM station.)
MSDS = Materials Safety Data Sheets, on UTCAT-Plus.
Hawley = Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary.
Reference, QD 5 C5 1992
Beilstein Handbook: Reference Stacks
Organic Syntheses, Collective Volumes: Reference, QD 262 O722
CA Chemical Substance Index: Collectives (1972-91) shelved
with CA Indexes; 1992- shelved with the Abstracts.