Merck Index Online: for research and everyday
Find ItMerck Index Online is an authoritative source of information on chemicals, drugs and biologicals. You an search or browse its more than 11,000 monographs (chemical compounds) that can be explored for research and everyday practical purposes. Ideal for quick searches to reveal the properties of compounds and biologicals, Merck Index Online provides identifiers such as CAS Registry Number and structure. It also gives the molecular formula, molecular weight and melting point as well as Trademark names.
Structure search is simplified by the ‘convert’ feature, which allows for inserting a compound name and then converting it to a structure to enable a substructure or exact structure search. It has more than 500 organic named reactions (ONR) which have been recognized and referred to by name within the chemistry community, for example, the Ehrlich-Sachs Reaction (1899). Attached to each ONR are relevant references including that of the original description. All references are from scholarly journals, encyclopedias and handbooks. Apart from properties, all records have appropriate sections that describe them, depending on the type of compound. One example is the “Therapeutic Category” under Classifications, which is useful for identifying uses of compounds and their derivatives in healing, re: Glybuzole – Trademark name – Gludiase as an antidiabetic. The database is further enhanced by its 28 reference tables.
Merck Index Online is valuable to researchers, faculty and students in basic science, chemistry, pharmacy, chemical and life science engineering, biomedical sciences, dentistry, allied health, and medicine. It is also useful for everyday practical purposes such as information on additives or components, nutrients, minerals, and proteins. For example, get all the information for the cooking spice, nutmeg, its uses in flavoring food and beverages, nutmeg oil as a fragrance in soaps, detergents, creams, lotions, perfumes, and candles.
By Ibironke Lawal, engineering and science collections librarian
Image: First issue, titled Merck’s Index
Categories Dentistry, Engineering, Forensic science, Health Sciences, Humanities and Sciences, Life Science, Medicine, STEM