Our Data Sources & Accuracy
Transparency about where our chemistry data comes from and how we ensure its reliability.
Data You Can Trust
CompoundLookup is built on data from the most authoritative chemistry database in the world: PubChem.
About PubChem
- Maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- 115+ million unique chemical structures
- 850+ contributing data sources
- Daily updates with new compounds
- Free access for everyone worldwide
How We Use PubChem Data
We extract and index the following information:
- Molecular formulas
- IUPAC systematic names
- Common/traditional names
- Molecular weights
- PubChem Compound IDs (CIDs)
Our Unique Processing
What makes CompoundLookup special is how we process this data:
- Element Parsing – We analyze each formula to identify constituent elements
- Indexing – We create searchable indexes by element combination
- Organization – We group compounds by their element sets
This processing enables our unique element-based search—something PubChem itself doesn't offer.
Accuracy Notes
- All data originates from PubChem, an authoritative source
- For critical applications, always verify with primary sources
- Click "Details" on any compound to view the full PubChem entry
Related Articles
Why CompoundLookup is Revolutionary: The First Element-Based Compound Search
Discover why CompoundLookup is the only tool in the world that lets you search chemical compounds by selecting elements,...
How to Search Compounds by Elements: A Complete Guide
Learn how to use CompoundLookup to find chemical compounds by selecting elements from the periodic table.
Understanding Element Combinations and Chemical Compounds
Learn the science behind how elements combine to form compounds and why some combinations are more common than others.
CompoundLookup vs PubChem vs ChemSpider: What's the Difference?
Compare CompoundLookup with traditional chemistry databases and understand when to use each tool.
The Science of Molecular Formulas: What They Tell Us
Understand how to read molecular formulas and what information they contain about chemical compounds.