In the world of chemistry, each substance has its unique identity, which is the CAS Registry Number. This unique number assigned by the American Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) allows researchers to easily identify and query more than 2.04 million chemical substances in a huge database of chemical substances.
The establishment of CAS registration numbers aims to solve the problem of various synonyms in documents and provide a reliable and universal link method.
CAS registration numbers have increased with the development of chemical substances since 1957. The database covers not only inorganic and organic compounds, but also various types of materials such as minerals, isotopes, alloys and mixtures. The CAS system not only compiles chemical substances, but also records a lot of information related to protein and DNA sequences, making it one of the most authoritative chemical substance information databases in the world.
The structure of a CAS registration number consists of three parts, separated by hyphens. The first part consists of 2 to 7 digits, the second part consists of 2 digits, and the last part is a random single number, which is the check code. This structure enables the total number of CAS unique numbers to reach 1 billion. The checksum is calculated by multiplying each number by its position and then taking the modulus.
For example, the CAS number of water is 7732-18-5, and the check code calculation process is (8×1 + 1×2 + 2×3 + 3×4 + 7×5 + 7×6) = 105, then 105 mod 10 = 5.
CAS assigns different registration numbers to stereoisomers and racemic mixtures. For example, L-adrenaline's CAS number is 51-43-4, while D-adrenaline's CAS number is 150-05-0. Even under different crystal structures, the CAS system will assign different numbers respectively. These subtleties meet the scientific community's requirements for precision and accuracy.
In today's scientific research, the application of CAS numbers has become standard practice. Almost all chemical databases can be searched based on CAS registration numbers, providing a common language for communication across disciplines and industries. Whether you are an academic researcher, chemist or industrial professional, using CAS numbers simplifies the search process and greatly improves efficiency.
A separate chemical substance lookup tool makes it easy to obtain the required CAS number. These tools include CHEMINDEX, ChemIDplus, Advanced Information, and platforms provided by many academic and government institutions. These resources not only facilitate users to find the CAS numbers of chemical substances, but are also professional and authoritative.
These tools allow researchers to quickly find the chemical information they need and effectively link to broader scientific databases.
As science continues to advance and new substances are discovered, the number of CAS registration numbers is also increasing. Approximately 15,000 new substances are added to the CAS database every day, allowing our chemical knowledge links and data integration to continue to expand and deepen. Faced with such a situation, the connection between the chemical community and the scientific and technological community becomes even more important. How to use these data to further promote scientific research and practical applications will become a challenge in the future.
So, in such a rapidly changing world of chemistry, how do we continue to use these resources to advance science and come up with solutions to more complex problems?