Reaxys Update

This week, Elsevier released an updated Reaxys interface with some new search features. Reaxys is one of the core databases to search chemical literature, particularly reactions and substance property data.
The new features:

  • An Ask Reaxys Toolbar that allows you to run topic searches that you would normally start from the Reactions or Substances menu, like “synthesis of taxol,” “preparation of Ni(PPh3)2Cl2,” “19F nmr of fluorobenzene,” “melting of steel,” or “crystal structure of MgSO4.”
  • A Molecular Formula query builder where you can select atoms (plus counts, charges, and ranges) as well as groups and series.
  • With the Alloy search, you can search for alloys, glasses and ceramic materials by the percentages, which can be expressed by weight, atom or volume.
  • The Reaxys Tree offers an alternative way to search the entries and properties. You can browse through the various groupings (chemical transformations, physico chemical properties, etc.) or search across the tree for an entry or property (calorimetry, Wittig reaction, modulus) and run a literature search on the selected results.

There is one content change. For literature references, from mid-2013 going forward, bioactivity data (including pharmacological data as well as toxicological data related to biological specimens) will no longer be visible in Reaxys. You will still see literature citations, but instead of data or other information about the bioactivity, there will be a comment like “physiological behaviour discussed.” The legacy bioactivity data will still be visible.