November 15, 2014 (Vol. 34, No. 20)
Rating:
Strong Points: Easy to use, many search options
Weak Points: Limited information displayed, full database requires subscription
Summary:
Whether you’re at a pharmaceutical company preparing for a drug screen, or you’re simply in search of a few hard-to-find chemicals, you may benefit from eMolecules.com. This website provides a free chemical search tool that, according to the company, is “linking researcher needs to supplier capabilities.” In other words, in response to a user’s enquiry about a specific chemical compound, the website displays a list of suppliers (with catalog numbers) that sell that chemical. (Of note, this search tool is a free version of the company’s eMolecules Plus database, which provides additional information but also requires a paid subscription.) The search options are flexible, as users can either search by compound name, CAS, SMILES, or catalog number; alternatively, users can draw the desired chemical structure using the ChemDraw interface on the site.
