There is a new resource out there called ChemSpider. In the few searches I’ve had a chance to do, it seems to be pretty efficient at separating a lot of the wheat from the chaff that you’d get just using Google. It would be interesting to hear what others think of it. According to the informative FAQ page, ChemSpider is a highly specialized chemistry search engine. And, did I mention it’s free? Yeah baby.
To begin you enter a name, CASRN, tradename, synonym or SMILES. This generates a report of hits. Click on an ID number or a structure and another page brings up hotlinks to various resources on the web. Click on the Data Sources link and another page will come up with a variety of data sources and their unique external ID numbers. Click on the molecular formula link and it pops off a Google search of the formula.
Obviously, this isn’t the same as a SciFinder search- you don’t get access to journal downloads and article bibliographies. It connects you to a variety of public access sites that appear to be data repositories and collections of commercial suppliers. But it is a real improvement over a raw Google search. You don’t get the rats nest of links to publishers (i.e., Wiley, Elsevier, etc), expired colloquium notices, or literature citations from curriculum vitae on faculty websites.
It will convert names to structures and, using ACD/Labs software, generate calculated physical properties. I would be hesitant to enter the identities of confidential materials just yet. I do not know if they compile entries into a database or not. I’m not convinced that I would enter a sensitive confidential material on it until I had a chat with an attorney about the question of disclosure.
All in all, it seems to be a useful tool for web searches. I have only scratched the surface of what this thing will do. Give it a try and see what you think.
Lamentations on Chemistry 
thanks for the heads up!
tried copper(II) acetate; the spider didn’t respond inorganically. what’s new- some of my students draw coordination complexes amorphously too… bet it works great for potential ligands! thanks
I think that ChemSpider finds things that are on public domain lists- physical data, catalogs, etc. Research chemicals that are not items of commerce may not show up in the radar. That’s my impression so far.
Regarding your question about confidentiality ” I would be hesitant to enter the identities of confidential materials just yet. I do not know if they compile entries into a database or not. I’m not convinced that I would enter a sensitive confidential material on it until I had a chat with an attorney about the question of disclosure.
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ChemSpider is NOT aggregating any searches that are performed into a database. The searches are not secure and do not utilize https security. While we will not share information about searches certainly users should be cautious in regards to confidential material in case of online interception of information.
That said we welcome everyone to use the service, provide feedback, help curate the data using the new capabilities (http://www.chemspider.com/NewFeatures.aspx#Curate_Data) and contribute at the ChemSpider Blog (http://www.chemspider.com/blog/).
Regarding Wanderer’s comments – Check out http://www.chemspider.com/Search.aspx?q=copper++%28II%29++acetate . This was obtained searching copper (II) acetate. If you look at http://www.chemspider.com/RecordView.aspx?id=171 it is clear that there are too many acetates associated with acetic acid. This is the value of enabling the community to curate with us…to clean up such data.
Hi Antony, Thanks for the comments. I think ChemSpider is a useful search tool and I have informed numerous colleagues about it.