Exploration Tools for Drug Discovery and Beyond: Applying SciFinder® to Interdisciplinary Research

Margaret      Haldeman; Barbara      Vieira; Fred      Winer; Lars   J. S.   Knutsen

Abstract

Chemists have long recognized the value of online databases for surveying the literature of their field. Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) databases covering almost a centurys worth of journal articles and patent documents are among the best known and widely used for searching information on compounds. Todays research presents a new challenge, however, as the boundaries of chemistry and biological sciences overlap increasingly. This trend is especially true in the drug discovery field where published findings relating to both chemical and biological entities and their interactions are examined. CAS has expanded its resources to meet the requirements of the new, interdisciplinary challenges faced by todays researchers. This is evident both in the content of CAS databases, which have been expanded to include more biology-related information, and in the technology of the search tools now available to researchers on their desktop. It is the integration of content and search-and-retrieval technology that enables new insights to be made in the vast body of accumulated information. CASs SciFinder® is a widely used research tool for this purpose.

Keywords: acs, biology, cas, chemistry, drug discovery, medicine, patents, pharmacology, protein