CHEM 547: Advanced Organic Chemistry (Fall 2023) : Reaxys

While Reaxys is NOT a comprehensive index to the recent literature in the way that SciFinder is, it is one of the best places to find curated historical and current literature, compound properties, and chemical reaction data. It is heavily used by organic synthetic chemists for its detailed coverage of organic reactions and properties. It contains data from three main sources:

• Beilstein Handbook
  • The core source of historical content for organic compounds and reactions. Beilstein was a definitive source of information on the structures, reactions, and properties of organic carbon compounds, drawn from the journal literature back to the 18th century.
• Gmelin Handbook
  • The historical source of structures and properties of inorganic and metal-organic compounds, drawn from the journal and patent literature back to the early 19th century.
• Patent Chemistry Database
  • A file of organic chemistry information drawn from selected English-language chemical patents (US, WO, EP, 1976- ).

Until 2010 about 175 journals were indexed for Beilstein and about 60 for Gmelin, though update frequency varied considerably. After 2010 journal coverage grew towards 400 core chemistry titles for both segments combined. (The increase was not retrospective.) Coverage within a journal is highly selective. Data are only excerpted if they have a structure, experimental fact(s) and a credible citation.

  To access Reaxys, go our UW-Madison Library Website > Change the search dropdown from Catalog to Databases > Type “Reaxys”. Click the database name. You can also use this direct link to Reaxys.

You will need to create an account with Reaxys. Choose the option ‘Register’ at the top of the Sign In screen. Do not use the Institutional Login option. You can use any email address you like to create an account. If you already have a Scopus or Mendeley account, it will work for Reaxys.

• Structure Searching
  • You can search by CAS Registry numbers, but don’t give up if you do not get any hits.  Many records do not have the proper (or any) CAS number attached.  Also, you may have to normalize the CAS RN query by preceding it with zeros to give the first segment six or seven digits: 1234-56-7 could also be entered as 001234-56-7 or 0001234-56-7. If you don't find it the first way try the other ways too.
  • Drawing your structure tends to be the most accurate method of structure searching in Reaxys

• Locating Properties and Spectra
  • All property data and spectra in Reaxys are experimental – no predicted values. However, this does not mean the data is 100% accurate - physical data drawn from patents should be viewed with particular skepticism.
  • When viewing property/spectral data in a chart, Reaxys will show associated measurement conditions and try to alert you if the data is in the Supplemental Information for the source article.