Sources for Information on Chemical Compounds

I. COMPOUND NAME	II. STRUCTURE/FORMULA	III. REGISTRY NUMBERS
IV. PHYSICAL & CHEMICAL PROPERTIES	V. APPLICATIONS (including Health & safety info.)	VI. PREPARATION
	VII. COMMERCIAL AVAILABILITY

[Prefatory Notes to using the resources listed below]

Major Access Points in the Ref. Resources to info. on chemical compounds:

Names
Structures (Molecular Formula, Structural Formula)
Registry Numbers (e.g. CAS, Beilstein, RTEC, Merck)
Physical Data (this last category provides access to compounds only in the newer electronic databases, but can be useful)

**Note: Each source will organize its information slightly differently and, hence, will provide different access points (often multiple) to its contents. Always be aware of what kind of organizational/access scheme any given resource is using before you begin to search for your needed information. Look first in the "help files" -- in the print resources, located at the front, usually under the heading, "How to Use This Book". Then, use the indexes provided in the manner prescribed.

Below is a general (not exhaustive) breakdown of where you can find information in the various categories you may be seeking.

I. Compound name
A. As indexed by CA
Located in:
1) Catalogs (e.g. Aldrich Chemical Company, Lancaster, Sigma (for biological compounds)) -- located at end of Ref. section
2) Handbook of Data on Organic Compounds (HODOC), 2nd and 3rd edition (Ref QD257.7 .H36 1989 and 1994)
3) Merck Index (Ready Ref RS51 .M4 13th ed; older ed. in Ref stacks)

B. Commerical and/or trade names
Located in:
1) CRC Handbook of Names, Synonyms, and Structures (3 vols.)(Ref QD291 .N36 1995)
2) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials (Ref T55.3 .H3 L494 2000)
3) NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/)
4) Chemfinder.com (http://chemfinder.cambridgesoft.com/)

C. Other synonyms (Chemical names)
Located in:
1) Merck Index (Ready Ref RS51 .M4 13th ed; 12th ed. in Ref stacks)
2) CRC Handbook of Names, Synonyms, and Structures(Ref QD291 N36 1995)
3) Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary (Ref QD5 .C5 2001)
5) Gardner's Chemical Synonyms and Trade Names (Ref TP9 .G286 1999 - between Kirk-Othmer sets)
6) ChemIDplus (Web) -- available a) through the Database Searching page of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences web site (library.niehs.nih.gov)(look under Quick Links for ChemIDplus), or b) through TOXNET (toxnet.nlm.nih.gov) (also on left side of screen, labeled "ChemIDplus")
7) Chemfinder.com (http://chemfinder.cambridgesoft.com/)
8) NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/)

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II. Structure:
A. Molecular formula
Located in:
1) CRC Handbook of Names, Synonyms, and Structures (Ref QD291 .N36 1995)
2) HODOC (Ref QD257.7 .H36 1989 and 1994)
3) Merck Index (Ready Ref RS51 .M4 13th ed; older editions in Ref stacks)
4) Handbook of Physical Properties of Organic Chemicals (Ref QD257.7 .H374 1997)

B. Structural Drawing
Located in: All of the above (Molecular Formula list), including the CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics (QD65 .H3)[Note: 85th ed. in Ready Ref; older editions in Ref and regular stacks]

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III. Registry Numbers
A. Chemical Abstracts Registry Number (CAS RN)
Located in:
1) CRC Handbook of Names, Synonyms, & Structures of Organic Compounds (Ref QD291 .N36 1995)
2) CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics (QD 65 H3) [Note: 85th ed. in Ready Ref; older editions in Ref and regular stacks]
3) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials (Ref T55.3 H3L494 2004)
4) Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary (Ref QD5 .C5 2001)
5) Catalogs (Aldrich, Fluka, etc.) [Shelved at end of Ref stacks]
6) Hazards in the Chemical Laboratory, 4th ed. (Ref QD51 .H35 1986)
7) Merck Index (Ready Ref RS51 .M4 13th ed; 12th ed. in Ref stacks)[*Note: In all editions prior to the 13th, must first know the name under which Merck lists the compound; then look in special CAS Name and Registry Number Index toward the back.]
8) NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/)

B. Beilstein (* There are two numbers of importance here -- a Beilstein number for online searching and a Ref. number for looking up reference in Beilstein print. The latter is the number you'll most often encounter)
Located in:
1) HODOC (Ref QD257.7 .H36 1989 and 1994)
2) CRC Handbook of Names, Synonyms, & Structures (Ref QD291 .N36 1995)
3) Lange's Handbook of Chemistry (Ref TP151 H25) -- only gives Beilstein Ref. No.
4) Aldrich's Catalog (Beilstein Ref. No.) [Shelved at end of Ref stacks]
5) CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics (Beilstein Ref. No.) (QD 65 H3) [Note: 85th ed. in Ready Ref; older editions in Ref and regular stacks]

C. RTECS (Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances), EINECS, others
Located in:
1) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials -- RTECS no. listed as a NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) number (Ref T55.3 H3L494 2004)
2) Aldrich Catalog [Shelved at end of Ref stacks]
3) NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/)

D. Merck (include edition number)
Located in:
1) Merck Index (Ready Ref RS51 .M4 13th ed; older editions in Ref stacks)
2) Aldrich Catalog [Shelved at end of Ref stacks]
3) CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics (QD 65 H3) [Note: 85th ed. in Ready Ref; older editions in Ref and regular stacks]

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IV. Physical and Chemical Properties:
(e.g., melting point, refractive index, solubility, density, specific gravity, etc.)
Located in:
1) CRC Handbook of Chemistry & Physics -- look under inverted form of name in Section 3 - Physical Constants; three indexes provided at end of Section 3. [Note: 85th ed. in Ready Ref; older editions in Ref and regular stacks]
2) Merck Index (Ready Ref RS51 .M4 13th ed; older ed. in Ref stacks)
3) HODOC -- includes spectra references (Ref QD257.7 .H36 1989 and 1994)
4) Chemical Properties Handbook (Ref TP200 .Y35 1999) -- look up name/syn. in back, get molecular formula, then look up various properties accd. to formula
5) Aldrich Catalog [Shelved at end of Ref stacks]
6) ChemExper Chemical Directory from chemexper.com. Contains spectra as well.
7) Lange's Handbook of Chemistry (organic & inorganic) (Ref TP151 .H25)
8) Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 4th ed (Ref TP9 .E685 1992)
9) Handbook of Physical Properties of Organic Chemicals -- use Appendix II, look up name, get CAS #, then look up accd. to this; compiles info. from a variety of above sources. (Ref QD257.7 .H374 1997)
10) NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/)
11) Chemfinder.com (http://chemfinder.cambridgesoft.com/)

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V. Applications
A. Industrial and/or medicial uses
Located in:
1) Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (Ref TP9 .U57 1985)
2) Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (Ref TP9 .E685 1992)
3) Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering (TP1087 E46 1985)
4) Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Technology (TP1110 .E53 2003, 3rd. ed., 2003; 12 vols.)
5) ChemIDplus (Web) -- available a) through the Database Searching page of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences web site (library.niehs.nih.gov)(look under Quick Links for ChemIDplus), or b) through TOXNET (toxnet.nlm.nih.gov) (also on left side of screen, labeled "ChemIDplus")

B. Health and safety information (toxicity, dosage, etc.)
Located in:
1) Sax's Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials (Ref T55.3 H3L494 2004)
2) Hazards in the Chemical Laboratory, ed 4 (Ref QD51 .H35 1986) -- arranged by chemical name -- no index of any use
3) Hazards in the Chemical Laboratory, ed 5 (Ref QD63.5 .H39 1992) -- Index of names/synonyms included, also of CAS RNs (useful, if already known).
4) Merck Index (Ready Ref RS51 .M4 13th ed; older ed. in Ref stacks)
5) Physician's Desktop Reference (PDR) (RS75 P5; 59th ed. 2005 in Ready Ref; older editions in stacks)
6) MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) -- www.hazard.com/msds/ -- access either by company producing chemical or by chemical
7) NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards (www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/)
8) ChemExper Chemical Directory from chemexper.com. Contains MSDS sheets.
9) Sigma Aldrich Library of Chemical Information (Ref T55.3 .H3 S54 1988)
10) Compendium of Safety Data Sheets for Research and Industrial Chemicals (TP200 .C66 1985, 7 vols) -- over 1800 compounds included; cumulative indexes in v. 7 for preferred name and synonyms, registry numbers, and molecular weights.
11) TOXNET (toxnet.nlm.nih.gov) -- contains a wide array of toxicology databases available for free searching; provided by the National Library of Medicine, under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health -- includes the database, TOXLINE
12) TOXLINE -- also available via Cambridge Scientific Abstracts; click on LSU Libraries' Indexes & Databases page, click on "T", scroll to Toxline and enter. Instructions are given on the "Connection" page concerning how to find the file.
13) Toxicology Abstracts -- available via CSA also; see above for connecting.
14) Hazardous Chemicals Desk Reference (Ref T55.3 .H3 L49 2002)

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VI. Preparation
Methods and % Yields
Located in:
1) Beilstein [located on 4th floor, special shelving area]
2) Merck Index (Ready Ref RS51 .M4 13th ed; older ed. in Ref stacks)
3) HODOCS (Ref QD257.7 .H36 1989 and 1994)
4) Chemical Abstracts (preparations) - for more guides and tutorials on use of Chemical Abstracts in its various forms, see our "How To" Guides/Tutorials page, under "Chemical Abstracts". [LSU's access is via SciFinder Scholar.]

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VII. Commercial Availability:
A. Source
Located in:
1) ChemExper Chemical Directory from chemexper.com. Publication also contains spectra and MSDS sheets.
2) Commercial catalogs from chemical companies, e.g. Alfa Aesar online catalog; Sigma Aldrich Library of Chemical Information
3) SciFinder Scholar

B. Price and unit size
Located in:
1) Sigma Aldrich Library of Chemical Information (Ref T55.3 .H3 S54 1988)
2) ChemExper Chemical Directory from chemexper.com.
3) Alfa Aesar online catalog
4) Spectrum Chemicals & Laboratory Products - Organic chemicals