New Resource Available
By Marion Peters, UCLA
The recently licensed Merck Index Online (uclibs.org/PID/61961), an encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs, and biologicals, joins a suite of online databases available at all UC campuses that offer access to chemical literature.
Version 13.4 of Merck Index Online contains all of the content found in the hard copy Merck Index 13th edition, plus 230 new entries, as well as 540 entries retired from the 12th edition. The 11,020 entries (referred to as monographs) for single substances and related groups of compounds cover the following: chemical, generic, and brand names; CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) registry numbers; physical data and literature references; structures and stereochemistry; toxicity information; and therapeutic uses.
The section on organic name reactions can be browsed or searched by keyword. Name reaction descriptions are detailed and include both original and recent literature references. Among the additional tables, viewable in PDF and included in a separate section, are ones covering selected abbreviations found in the chemical literature, conversion factors, indicators, and thermometric equivalents. The Merck Index database is also structure-searchable with installation of a free ChemDraw plug-in from CambridgeSoft.
Teri Vogel, UC San Diego, is the new CDL Resource Liaison for Merck Index Online. She can be contacted at tmvogel@ucsd.edu.