''Organic Syntheses'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1921. It publishes detailed and checked procedures for the synthesis of

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. T ...

s. A unique feature of the review process is that all of the data and experiments reported in an article must be successfully repeated in the laboratory of a member of the

editorial board The editorial board is a group of experts, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take. Mass media At a newspaper, the editorial board usually consists of the editorial page editor, ...

as a check for reproducibility prior to publication. The journal is published by Organic Syntheses, Inc., a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

corporation. An annual print version is published by

John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, ...

on behalf of Organic Syntheses, Inc.

History

Prior to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, work on synthetic organic chemistry in the United States had been quite limited, and most of the reagents used in laboratories had to be imported from Europe. When export stoppages and trade embargoes cut off this source, Clarence Derick, a professor of chemistry at

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, began an effort to synthesize these needed chemicals in industrial quantities in a university laboratory with the help of a few graduate students. This work was performed during the summer break and came to be known as the "summer prep". Students who worked in the laboratory were paid and received credit. The basic procedures were often obtained from textbooks, and the procedures were sketchy. Reproducibility was important in summer preps, so students were required to keep meticulous record books. The procedures were finally collected and published for the first time in a four-pamphlet set called ''Organic Chemical Reagents'', which quickly sold out. The publishers received submissions from other chemists, which spawned the idea for serial publication, and the first annual volume of ''Organic Syntheses'' was thus published in 1921. By then, chemists from other universities and industry were also contributing. One example of much needed chemicals were dyes for sensitizing photographic film. Research efforts in this field led to the foundation of Eastman Kodak Organic Chemicals Division. The summer preps contributed to the war effort in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

but were discontinued in 1950 because by then an infrastructure of chemical companies with their own research had been established. Until 1998, ''Organic Syntheses'' was published only as an annual printed volume. In that year, all past volumes were made available on an open access website and new articles are now published online as soon as they are accepted.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.orgsyn.org/
Organic Syntheses at John Wiley's Online Library
Organic chemistry journals Publications established in 1921 Open access journals Wiley (publisher) academic journals English-language journals

History

See also

References

External links