''The Merck Index'' is an encyclopedia of

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhal ...

s and

biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

s with over 10,000 monograph on single substances or groups of related compounds published online by the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Ro ...

History

The first edition of the Merck's Index was published in 1889 by the German chemical company Emanuel Merck and was primarily used as a sales catalog for Merck's growing list of chemicals it sold. The American subsidiary was established two years later and continued to publish it. During World War I the US government seized Merck's US operations and made it a separate American "Merck" company that continued to publish the Merck Index. In 2012 the Merck Index was licensed to the

. An online version of The Merck Index, including historic records and new updates not in the print edition, is commonly available through research libraries. It also includes an appendix with monographs on organic named reactions. The 15th edition was published in April 2013. Monographs in ''The Merck Index'' typically contain: * a

CAS registry number A CAS Registry Number (also referred to as CAS RN or informally CAS Number) is a unique identification number assigned by the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), US to every chemical substance described in the open scientific literature. It inclu ...

* synonyms of the substance, such as

trivial name In chemistry, a trivial name is a non systematic name for a chemical substance. That is, the name is not recognized according to the rules of any formal system of chemical nomenclature such as IUPAC inorganic or IUPAC organic nomenclature. A ...

s and International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry nomenclature * a

chemical formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ...

molecular weight A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...

percent composition Elemental analysis is a process where a sample of some material (e.g., soil, waste or drinking water, bodily fluids, minerals, chemical compounds) is analyzed for its elemental and sometimes isotopic composition. Elemental analysis can be qual ...

* a structural formula * a description of the substance's appearance *

melting point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depends ...

and boiling point *

solubility In chemistry, solubility is the ability of a substance, the solute, to form a solution with another substance, the solvent. Insolubility is the opposite property, the inability of the solute to form such a solution. The extent of the solub ...

solvent A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...

s commonly used in the laboratory * citations to other literature regarding the compound's

chemical synthesis As a topic of chemistry, chemical synthesis (or combination) is the artificial execution of chemical reactions to obtain one or several products. This occurs by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions. In mo ...

* a therapeutic category, if applicable * caution and hazard information

Editions

*1st (1889) - first edition released by E. Merck (Germany) *2nd (1896) - second edition released by Merck's American subsidiary and added medicines from the

United States Pharmacopeia The ''United States Pharmacopeia'' (''USP'') is a pharmacopeia (compendium of drug information) for the United States published annually by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (usually also called the USP), a nonprofit organization tha ...

and National Formulary *3rd (1907) *4th (1930) *5th (1940) *6th (1952) *7th (1960) - first named editor is Merck chemist Paul G. Stecher *8th (1968) - editor Paul G. Stecher *9th (1976) - editor Martha Windholz, a Merck chemist *10th (1983), - editor Martha Windholz. In 1984 the Index became available online as well as printed. *11th (1989), *12th (1996), - editor Susan Budavari, a Merck chemist *13th (2001), - editor Maryadele O'Neil, senior editor at Merck *14th (2006), - editor Maryadele O'Neil *15th (2013), - editor Maryadele O'Neil; first edition under the Royal Society of Chemistry

References

External links

* Merck Group 1889 non-fiction books 1896 non-fiction books 1907 non-fiction books 1930 non-fiction books 1940 non-fiction books 1952 non-fiction books 1960 non-fiction books 1968 non-fiction books 1976 non-fiction books 1983 non-fiction books 1989 non-fiction books 1996 non-fiction books 2001 non-fiction books 2006 non-fiction books Encyclopedias of science 1889 in science Royal Society of Chemistry Chemical databases Biological databases {{chem-book-stub

History

Editions

See also

References

External links