The Laboratory makes extensive use of several databases listed below.
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
In-house database (RecipNet)
Use the Reciprocal Net database to access your data acquired after July 2000. A username and password are required and are available either from your adviser or from the Director of the X-ray Laboratory. Each group has only one account. The data are hidden from the general public until published.
How to access your structures in Reciprocal Net
Login with your name and password to RecipNet.
Search for your structures (“Search” link is second from the left). A good starting point would be the first three letters of your adviser’s last name entered in the “Sample number” field.
The links to the relevant files with structural information are at the bottom of the graphics page. The files include the diffraction and refinement data as well as a ready-for-manuscript-submission report.
Cambridge Structural Database (CSD)
The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Center (CCDC) distributes the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD), the largest database of published organic and organometallic compounds. The CSD is available online free to the UW-Madison campus users for 2010 as WebCSD. Be warned that WebCSD is good for straightforward searches. In order to run sophisticated searches you may want to install the CSD locally – contact the Chemistry Library to obtain the installation DVD’s. The X-ray Lab has the full-features local installations of the CSD and you are welcome to contact us for help. The Chemistry Library X-ray page contains an excellent tutorial for searching WebCSD.
How to install the CSD on your computer
The CSD and its tools can be installed on your computer after you download the database. The UW-Madison Library has a site license for the database – contact the Chemistry librarian Ariel Andrea to obtain a copy.
Note that Mercury (program that is part of the CCDC distribution) is an excellent visualization tool.
Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD)
The UW-Madison Library provides a license to access the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database.
Protein Data Bank (PDB)
The Protein Data Bank is a free resource that contains over 162000 structures.
Crystallography Open Database (COD)
The free Crystallography Open Database is searchable with our licensed Bruker powder diffraction software suite.