Strategies for chemical reaction searching in SciFinder
The bibliographic, chemical structure, and chemical reaction databases produced by Chemical Abstracts Service allow a number of possibilities for chemical reaction searching. While these same databases may be searched through the STN network, many end-users find the intuitive software interface SciFinder simpler, but there still are issues to address. Searching may be performed through keywords, chemical structures, or chemical reactions, and the answers may vary with respect to precision and comprehension. Often combinations of search options may be needed to best solve the problem. Retrosynthetic analyses are easily performed in the chemical reaction database and can give unique insights into synthetic alternatives.
Ridley
DD
School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, NSW, Australia. d.ridley@chem.usyd.edu.au