Names and Numbers for Chemical Compounds

The use of proper chemical nomenclature is essential for effective scientific communication. More than one million new substances are reported each year, each of which must be identified clearly, unambiguously, and completely in the primary literature. Chemical compounds are named according to the rules established by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) [formerly the International Union of Biochemistry (IUB)], the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), the Committee on Nomenclature, Terminology, and Symbols of the American Chemical Society, and other authorities as appropriate. For more information on naming chemical compounds, refer to the bibliography in Chapter 18. This chapter gives the editorial conventions and style points for chemical compound names. 

The names of chemical compounds may consist of one or more words, and they may include locants, descriptors, and syllabic portions. Locants and descriptors can be numerals, element symbols, small capital letters, Greek letters, Latin letters, italic words and letters, and combinations of these. Treat the word or syllabic portions of chemical names just like other common nouns use roman type, keep them lowercase in text, capitalize them at the beginnings of sentences and in titles, and hyphenate them only when they do not fit completely on one line. 

7-dihydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-4fT-l-benzopyran-4-one 6-hydroxy-2-naphthalenesulfonic acid 3 -methylphthalanilic acid 

S-triethyl phosphorodithioate P-phenylphosphinimidic acid S-methyl benzenethiosulfonate 

Use the Greek letters eta (r ) to indicate hapticity and kappa (k) to designate the ligating atom in complicated formulas. 

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Other points of style are discussed in Chapter 11, Numbers, Mathematics, and Units of Measure Chapter 12, Names and Numbers for Chemical Compounds and Chapter 13, Conventions in Chemistry . 

Do not capitalize chemical names or nonproprietary drug names unless they are at the beginning of a sentence or are in a title or heading. In such cases, capitalize the first letter of the English word, not the locant, stereoisomer descriptor, or positional prefix. (See Chapter 12, Names and Numbers for Chemical Compounds .)... 

Chapter 12 Names and Numbers for Chemical Compounds >- 243 Poly(vinyl chloride) is a less useful polymer than polyethylene glycol). 

The pyridopyrimidines discussed in this review are derived by the ortho fusion of the pyridine and pyrimidine rings through ring carbon atoms. There are four such compounds for which the nomenclature and numbering of Chemical Abstracts (1-4) will be used. Alternative names used in the literature are 1,3,8-triazanaphthalene (1), 1,3,5-tri-azanaphthalene (2), 1,3,7-triazanaphthalene or copazoline (3), and 1,3,6-triazanaphthalene (4). There has been no previous review of the... 

Typically, reactants and products are represented by their atomic or molecular formulas, but molecular structures or simple names may be used instead. Phases are also often shown (s) for solid, ( ) for liquid, and (g) for gas. Compounds dissolved in water are designated (aq) for aqueous. Lastly, numbers are placed in front of the reactants or products to show the ratio in which they either combine or form. These numbers are called coefficients, and they represent numbers of individual atoms and molecules. For instance, to represent the chemical reaction in which coal (solid carbon) burns in the presence of oxygen to form gaseous carbon dioxide, we write the chemical equation... 

Zr) to provide ease of use in quickly locating the data by using the chemical formula. The compound name and CAS No (Chemical Abstracts Registry Number) are next provided. Values for representative temperature and density at the representative temperature are given in the adjacent columns. The next column provides the code for the tabulation. 

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