CHEM 547: Advanced Organic Chemistry (Fall 2023) : SciFinder
Video Tutorials
SciFinder provides some excellent video tutorials to help you start searching efficiently! You can view them all on their training website.
SciFinder Basics
You can start searching SciFinder in three ways:
- By References
- Search by keyword or phrase, author name, citation information, etc.
- When using keywords, do not use Boolean logic like AND OR and NOT; instead, write your query as if you were speaking it
- Ex: the effect of antibiotic residues on dairy products
- By Substance
- Search by drawing a chemical structure
- Search by molecular formula
- Search by ‘substance identifier’ = CAS#, common name, IUPAC name (50-00-0, Formaldehyde, Methanal)
- By Reaction
- Must search by drawing a reaction
What is SciFinder?
SciFinder is a database from the Chemical Abstracts Service and represents the most comprehensive coverage of chemistry information in the world. It contains several sets of information within one search platform:
- Comprehensive indexing of chemical literature from 1900-present with select coverage going back to the 1800s; Medline (PubMed) papers are also included.
- The Chemical Registry, an index of chemical structures. Each compound is assigned a CAS Registry number (ex 50-00-0).
- Chemical reactions, single and multi-step organic reactions, from 1840-present. Reactions outside that scope have been added from the chemical literature from 1962-present.
- Chemical regulatory information
- Commercial availability of compounds
Accessing SciFinder at UW-Madison
You will need to create an account using your @wisc.edu email address. Instructions to create a SciFinder account and a link to log in are available here.
Getting Full Text Articles from SciFinder
Once you find an article you’d like to read, click the Full Text button and choose the Find IT at UW Madison option.
Remember, if we do not have access to an article, you can always Request a Copy! It will be sent to your email as a link within a few days of the request. The option to request a copy will be on the FindIT page.
Tips for Using SciFinder
Search Methods
- If you are trying to do a comprehensive literature review, or you are looking for older information, you must use the Explore Research Topics method along with a Substance or Reaction search.
- Substance search will typically return results from articles from 1967-present; select journals have had their substance data indexed back to 1907
- Reaction search will typically return results from articles from 1985-present (patents from 1991-present); select journals have had their reaction data indexed back to 1840
- Research Topic search includes all data within SciFinder
Substance Searching
- Doing an Exact substance structure search will likely bring up many results – this is because it will include isotopes, mixtures, isomers, charged compounds, and radicals. You can choose to exclude those options if you wish! One particularly useful filter is the “Single component” option under the Advanced Search – checking it will remove any mixtures from your results.
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- Locking atoms and rings in your drawing will make a Substructure Search only retrieve results with the substitution points you want.
- Once you find your compound, note its CAS Registry number. It will save you time if you need to repeat your search.
- Molecular formula searching is best for searching salts, alloys, and polymers (This guide from the University of Texas provides great examples: https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/chemistry/scifinder/guide)
- SciFinder Drawing and Molecular Formula SearchingTips on how to use the structure drawer to search by substance or reaction, and information on how and when to use the Molecular Formula Search.