Searching fee and non-fee toxicology information resources: an overview of selected databases

Toxicology profiles organize information by broad subjects, the first of which affirms identity of the agent studied. Studies here show two non-fee databases (ChemFinder and ChemIDplus) verify the identity of compounds with high efficiency (63% and 73% respectively) with the fee-based Chemical Abstracts Registry file serving well to fill data gaps (100%). Continued searching proceeds using knowledge of structure, scope and content to select databases. Valuable sources for information are factual databases that collect data and facts in special subject areas organized in formats available for analysis or use. Some sources representative of factual files are RTECS, CCRIS, HSDB, GENE-TOX and IRIS. Numerous factual databases offer a wealth of reliable information; however, exhaustive searches probe information published in journal articles and/or technical reports with records residing in bibliographic databases such as BIOSIS, EMBASE, MEDLINE, TOXLINE and Web of Science. Listed with descriptions are numerous factual and bibliographic databases supplied by 11 producers. Given the multitude of options and resources, it is often necessary to seek service desk assistance. Questions were posed by telephone and e-mail to service desks at DIALOG, ISI, MEDLARS, Micromedex and STN International. Results of the survey are reported.