# What all well known research engines will let me search a chemical reaction **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-well-known-research-engines-will-let-me-search-a-chemical-reaction/324984 "2005-10-06T01:17:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-well-known-research-engines-will-let-me-search-a-chemical-reaction/324984/1 "2005-10-06T01:17:03Z")
Lets say instead of searching by keywords I want to draw out a reaction and have the search program search for the reaction or something similiar. What all programs allow me to do this? Offhand I can only think of scifinder scholar. Are there any others that have access to endless reports, that allow this function and that are so common that I can either download them for free or my school will have access to them? ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-well-known-research-engines-will-let-me-search-a-chemical-reaction/324984/2 "2005-10-06T10:36:38Z")
There are two others that I use in the UK. Neither are free of course or quite as good as scifinder but are cheaper for academics. There are no free ones as far as I know. REACCS ( [http://cds.dl.ac.uk/cds/datasets/orgchem/isis/reaccs.html](http://cds.dl.ac.uk/cds/datasets/orgchem/isis/reaccs.html) ) and Beilstein ( [http://crossfire.mcc.ac.uk/Commander7/webhelp/beilstein/beilstein.htm](http://crossfire.mcc.ac.uk/Commander7/webhelp/beilstein/beilstein.htm) ) ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-well-known-research-engines-will-let-me-search-a-chemical-reaction/324984/3 "2005-10-06T14:30:43Z")
Could you provide an example of exactly what you’re trying to do, please? I have no hope of answering your question, but the mission seems interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Jon\_the\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@Jon\_the\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jon_the_Geek)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-well-known-research-engines-will-let-me-search-a-chemical-reaction/324984/4 "2005-10-06T15:12:37Z")
No time to go dig for a link right now, but search for “reaction SMILES”. That’s the supposed-to-be-easy-to-search-on format for typing a chemical reaction. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-well-known-research-engines-will-let-me-search-a-chemical-reaction/324984/5 "2005-10-06T16:14:18Z")
> [@Jon the Geek](#): > > No time to go dig for a link right now, but search for “reaction SMILES”. That’s the supposed-to-be-easy-to-search-on format for typing a chemical reaction. smiles is indeed a representation scheme for reactions and compounds that some search engines use. However, what the OP is looking for is a free search engine, not how the search engine codes its data ---
**Author:** ![aamco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@aamco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aamco)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-well-known-research-engines-will-let-me-search-a-chemical-reaction/324984/6 "2005-10-06T17:43:10Z")
> [@scm1001](#): > > There are no free ones as far as I know. Seconded. Reaction data is hard to put into a database, and the people who want the information are willing to pay for it. I consider it extraordinarily unlikely that there is a free version. Doesn’t ISIS also have a reaction search engine? I usually use Scifinder and Beilstein, but I recall using some ISIS-based search during an internship. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-well-known-research-engines-will-let-me-search-a-chemical-reaction/324984/7 "2005-10-07T08:08:20Z")
> [@aamco](#): > > Doesn’t ISIS also have a reaction search engine? I usually use Scifinder and Beilstein, but I recall using some ISIS-based search during an internship. The REACCS link I posted uses an ISIS interface which is what you were thinking of. I dont know whether the company behind ISIS has anything to do with the search engine. Wesley - if you have a particular search in mind it would not be a problem to look it up for you ---
**Author:** ![aamco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@aamco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aamco)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-all-well-known-research-engines-will-let-me-search-a-chemical-reaction/324984/8 "2005-10-07T19:05:09Z")
> [@scm1001](#): > > if you have a particular search in mind it would not be a problem to look it up for you Unless it involves taking a hydroxyl off of pseudoephedrine … 😉