The major tool for accessing the primary sources of chemistry is Chemical Abstracts. It offers a variety of ways to efficiently find what you're looking for: author, chemical substance, formula, general subject, and patent.

Articles (from over 8,000 journals) and patents make up more than 90% of what is indexed. You can also find books, conference proceedings, dissertations, electronic-only journals, meeting abstracts, preprints, reviews, and technical reports. Its coverage is international with a focus on American and European publications.

Subject areas included are biochemistry, biotechnology, environmental science, food science, geochemistry, materials science, toxicology, and agricultural, analytical, applied, inorganic, macromolecular, organic, and physical chemistry. If something can be considered a chemical substance, Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) includes it in Chemical Abstracts. It currently includes more than 30 million substances.