Library Guides: Chemistry and Chemical Engineering: Patents

Searching for chemical patents

US Patent and Trademark Office: Search for Patents
Patent searching resources, plus information on a suggested seven-step strategy for patent searching

SciFinder This link opens in a new window
Indexes chemical science patents from 150 countries: CAS patent coverage
Indexes over 9,000 journals, patents, conferences, books, technical reports and dissertations related to chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science and the biomedical sciences. Relates to the print equivalent Chemical Abstracts.
Derwent Innovations Index This link opens in a new window
The Derwent Innovations Index indexes patents of chemical, electrical and mechanical inventions. Users may search by topic, inventor, patent assignee, patent number, classification codes, & by chemical compounds.[1963-present]
Reaxys This link opens in a new window
Find property, reaction, synthesis, and bibliographic information for chemicals.
A web-based interface for three chemical information databases, Beilstein, Gmelin and the Patent Chemistry Database (PCD). Structure, reaction and citation searching are possible. Reaxys is a key resource for locating information on how to synthesis organic, inorganic and organometallic compounds. It is also a good source for critically evaluated data on on physical, chemical, spectral, bioactivity, or toxicological properties of chemical compounds.
Google Patent Search This link opens in a new window
Indexes millions of patents from sources around the world.
Searches and displays the full text of over 7 million U.S. patents. May not display all relevant patents if the search result is large. This system is still in "beta" stage, so results may vary as Google makes changes in its programming.

Markush structures

Markush structures are "generalized formula[s] or description[s] for a related set of chemical compounds, used in patent applications. ... Markush structures can be described for compounds with substituents at several positions," making it possible for one structure to represent many possible compounds and for a patent to claim priority for many different compounds, including some that have not yet been synthesized.

See: "Markush structure." In A Dictionary of Chemistry, edited by Law, Jonathan, and Richard Rennie. : Oxford University Press, 2020.

SciFinder This link opens in a new window
Use Patent Markush search to find structures (including generic structures) within patent references. See SciFinder Help for further guidance.
Indexes over 9,000 journals, patents, conferences, books, technical reports and dissertations related to chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science and the biomedical sciences. Relates to the print equivalent Chemical Abstracts.

Secondary menu

Chemistry and Chemical Engineering: Patents

Finding patent information

Searching for chemical patents

Markush structures