''The Merck Index'' is an encyclopedia of

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...

s and

biological Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

s with over 10,000

monographs A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

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 and 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 ...

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 * synonyms of the substance, such as trivial names and

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry nomenclature IUPAC nomenclature is a set of recommendations for naming chemical compounds and for describing chemistry and biochemistry in general. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is the international authority on chemical nomencl ...

* a

chemical formula 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, such as pare ...

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

* percent composition * 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 of matter, state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase (matter), phase exist in Thermodynamic equilib ...

and

boiling point The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the pressure surrounding the liquid and the liquid changes into a vapor. The boiling point of a liquid varies depending upon the surrounding envi ...

solubility In chemistry, solubility is the ability of a chemical substance, substance, the solute, to form a solution (chemistry), solution with another substance, the solvent. Insolubility is the opposite property, the inability of the solute to form su ...

solvent A solvent (from the Latin language, Latin ''wikt:solvo#Latin, solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a Solution (chemistry), solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas ...

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

chemical synthesis Chemical synthesis (chemical 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 modern laboratory uses ...

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

Editions

Copy of the Merck Index 5th edition 1940 owned by Prof Victor Trikojus

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 over 200-year old United States Pharmacopeial Convention (usually also called the USP), a nonprofi ...

and

National Formulary A formulary is a list of pharmaceutical drugs, often decided upon by a group of people, for various reasons such as insurance coverage or use at a medical facility. Traditionally, a formulary contained a collection of formulas for the compounding ...

*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 Eponymous indices {{chem-book-stub

History

Editions

See also

References

External links