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SPPS 221: Pharmaceutical Chemistry: SciFinder-n

Information resources for pharmaceutical chemistry

SciFinder-n Access

SciFinder-n requires a one-time registration. If you have a SciFinder or SciFinder-n account from another campus, even another UC, you'll need to register again.To register, start here. (VPN must be enabled to access the registration page.)

To connect to SciFinder-n, login with your username and password at https://scifinder-n.cas.org/. Protected-Wifi (on campus) and VPN (off campus) are still required.

Using SciFinder-n for Your Assignment

Search by substance and view properties:

  • Enter your compound in the search bar, which typically defaults to a substance search. As you enter your compound, you'll see a menu of possible compounds. [image]
  • From the search results, select the substance's CAS Registry Number (3 sets of numbers, separated by hyphens) to bring up the full, CAS Registry substance record, including experimental properties [image]
  • Review the available properties listed under the tabs. LogP will be under the Chemical tab, and Optical Rotation would be under Optical and Scattering. [image]
  • For the experimental properties, you will see one or both of the following::
    • The actual data point(s) with a reference to the associated "source" article. [image]
    • "Full text," with one or more references to the associated "source" articles, which you will need to read to obtain the data points. [image].
  • Click the reference to view the article title and abstract, and select DOI under the Full Text menu to get the article. That should work in most cases, but you can also try the Get it at UC option as well.
  • Even if the data is available in SciFinder, it is advisable that you still get the article to confirm the data is there. And you should always cite what you've actually read.

Find an article on the synthesis/preparation of your substance:

  • Return to the Substance Detail record, and click the Reactions button above the structure. [image]
  • Then limit the results:
    • Substance role: select Product
    • Language: select English.
    • Document type: select Journal
  • The results are grouped by scheme, but you can change it to group by document. Each reaction will include reaction details and the associated article, with the same Full Text options. [image]

Find an article about the substance's mechanism of action (option 1):

  • Return to the Substance Detail record, and click the References button above the structure. [image]
  • Use the top filter: Search Within Results. Enter mechanism of action and run the search again. Limit to English-language articles if needed. [image]
  • The articles will sort by relevancy, but you can change to see the oldest or newest articles first. [image]

Find an article about the substance's mechanism of action (option 2):

  • Return to the SciFinder-n homepage.
  • Change the search from Substances to References, enter mechanism of action AND your compound, and run the search. [image].
  • You should get a similar set of results. [image]

Find compounds that match specific properties:

  • Return to the SciFinder-n homepage, and return to the substance search.
  • Open up the dropdown menu under Molecular Formula to select the first property you want to search. You'll have to browse the groups to find the property. Note the example to see how to enter your values, including ranges. [image]
  • Add additional advanced search fields as needed to search other properties. [image]