Elsevier Information Systems GmbH, a German subsidiary of STM publisher Elsevier, Netherlands, has announced that CrossFire Beilstein will incorporate multi-step reactions into its database from June 2008. The CrossFire Beilstein database claims to be the world's largest compilation of chemical facts.
Multi-step reactions enable users to go beyond fundamental reactions. They will now be able to view and understand the individual steps within the overall reaction scheme, as well as find suitable starting points for their synthesis design. Designed specifically to address user expectations, the addition of multi-step reactions in CrossFire Beilstein supports retro synthesis and enables chemists to find and check better pathways and more effective synthesis routes - from simple, readily available starting materials to their desired target molecule. In addition, a broader range of synthesis routes is available to generate compound libraries in High Throughput Screening. This finer granularity of the reaction data increases the database's value to synthetic and organic chemists both in industry and academia.
CrossFire Beilstein's rich content also serves as the foundation for the next generation of information tools that will further support the selection, design and optimisation of synthetic processes. The addition of multi-step reactions has been met with positive response from both the corporate and academic sectors.
