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Biochemistry

Resources & tips for Biochemistry Research

Find Chemical Structure, Physical Properties, Enzymes and Proteins, Chemical Reactions

Chemical Structure Databases

Albertsons Library has numerous resources to help you find chemical structures, properties, and characteristics. Start your search with one of these Databases:

Physical Properties Databases

There are many sources of physical properties. Start with these:

Enzyme and Protein Databases

If You're looking for Enzymes or Proteins, these databases will get you started:

Chemical Reactions Databases

​​​​​​Looking for Chemical Reactions?  These databases will help:

Speciation Analysis

Resources here relate to chemical analysis used to describ how species differentiate from one another.

Crystalline Structure Databases and Sources

Here are a few places to start.

Finding Spectra

Finding Spectra in SciFinder

1. Perform a Substances search for the substance of interest.

  • Tip: If you search with the CAS number for a substance, the search should return a single record.

2. Click on the substance record.

SciFinder substance record

3. In the record details, look for the "Experimental Spectra" section and open the dropdown menu.

  • There is usually also a "Predicted Spectra" section, but the "Experimental Spectra" are preferred because the spectra come from actual experimental data. If there are only "Predicted Spectra" listed for your substance, try searching another database like Reaxys or SDBS. 

4. Select the tab for proton NMR spectra (1H NMR). It's usually the first tab.

5. Select one of the links for "View Proton NMR Spectrum" to see the image.

  • The "Source" on the right side lists the company, lab, or literature that the spectrum came from.

6. Once you have opened up the spectrum viewer, look below the image. There should be a Download button for a .JPG file. 

7. You also will see the citation information listed at the bottom of the spectrum viewer page. 

  • If the spectrum came from a journal article, you should see a link to the literature record.
  • If the spectrum came from a supplier or commercial lab, there might be no associated paper or link.

Spectra in the Spectral Database for Organic Compounds (SDBS) 

by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan

SDBS is an integrated spectral database system for organic compounds. Spectra in the SDBS are mostly unique to that database. Includes 6 different types of spectra under a directory of the compounds:

  • N electron impact Mass spectrum (EI-MS or MS)
  • Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FT-IR or IR)
  • 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR or 1H NMR) spectrum
  • 13C NMR spectrum
  • Laser Raman spectrum (Raman)
  • Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrum

Searchable by:

  • Compound name
  • Molecular formula
  • Molecular weight
  • CAS Registry number

Example searching by CAS Registry Number*:

1. Enter CAS Registry Number in the appropriate search box (circled in the image below)

2. Check the appropriate Spectrum type under "Spectrum: Check the spectra of your interest"

3. Click the the Search button

 

SDBS Search Screen with CAS Registry Number and Spectrum search boxes circled

 

4. Searching by CAS number should provide only one record. Under the names of the different types of spectra (MS, CNMR, HNMR, etc.), there will either be an "N" (no) if there no spectra available in the database, or a "Y" (yes) with a link if there are spectra available. Where there is a Y (yes) you can click on the link to bring up the data.

 

SDBS search results with HNMR Spectrum Y link circled

 

5. The Y link will open a window for the spectrum.

6. To download the data, right-click on the spectrum select "Save As" to save a copy of the image.

Additional tips on searching can be found under the SDBS HELP tab

 

Citing a Spectrum from SDBS

The SDBS FAQ suggests this citation information for your bibliography:

SDBSWeb : http://sdbs.db.aist.go.jp (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, date of access)

Check this format against the guidelines for Internet databases in ACS citation style.

 

CAS Registry Number = Chemical Abstracts Service registry number by the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Source: Adapted from Chemistry Subject Guide - Finding Spectra, Georgia State University Libraries, viewed Dec 22, 2023. URL: https://research.library.gsu.edu/c.php?g=115286&p=7636003.

Find Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra