Searching the web for molecules is nigh on impossible. Sure, there are database tools like Chemspider and PubChem out there. And, micro-applets like da InChI code will help you solve the puzzle, but much, much more still remains hidden it seems.

For instance, you generally have to know the precise name of a compound for which you hope to find information and even if you do know that one name you will only find pages that use that specific synonym. What about all the pages that use a different synonym for the same molecule?

The Molport molecular search tool is apparently different, it’s not a database or indexing tool, and it speaks the language of chemistry. It recognizes synonyms and allows you to search the web via its built in structure tool for whole molecules or sub-structures.

Molport’s Imants Zudans revealed to the Reactive Chemistry Blog that the company is launching version 2 of its system today, which offers even more powerful searching than before and ties the search system into a chemical marketplace, something that has eluded researchers and lab techs since the dawn of the chemical web.