Chempedia: "a free and continuously-updated" chemical compound encyclopaedia
Earlier this
year, California-based company Metamolecular, launched
Chempedia,
"a free and
continuously-updated online" encyclopaedia
of chemical compounds. The database is seen as potentially offering a new approach to overcoming some of the
shortfalls of numerous
well established - but restricted access - reference works:
notably the limited visibility of information, slow update rate, and
sometimes-limited coverage of chemical information relevant to more niche areas
of specialisation.
Chempedia is built upon two of the biggest free and open chemical information
repositories - Wikipedia and PubChem -, whose contents the creators have sought to mash up.
Wikipedia contains a growing collection of 'chemical compound monographs', which
can be indexed relatively simply. However, at present
further work remains to
include all Wikipedia's 6,000-plus monographs in Chempedia.
Each compound monograph
outlines information about the "structure, uses, history, and significance of a
chemical compound". Users can search for compounds through the 'ChemWriter
Structure Editor' or by text using a title, CAS Number, or PubChem CID. There is
also the option to search the compound listings alphabetically or by most recent
items.
The compound entries can be
updated as soon as possible to
reflect newly available information. Here users
are well placed to know when an existing Wikipedia compound monograph
ought to appear in Chempedia yet does not, when an existing monograph needs to
be updated, or when a new monograph has been written and needs to be linked.
All users need to do in order to create a new or updated link from Chempedia to
Wikipedia, is to provide the Wikipedia link via the 'create'
tab found on the site's main menu.
Chempedia is to be applauded for seeking to tap into the great
potentials offered by
Wikipedia's growing chemical content, in order to provide a comprehensive and
up-to-date reference database.
Posted by Gino D'Oca at 16:18
