Bio-Rad Launches Affordable Spectral Database for College Chemistry Curriculum

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (AMEX: BIO and BIOb) announced today the release of the IQ Academic Spectral Database, a convenient collection of infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of organic compounds for teachers and students.

With the affordable IQ Academic Spectral Database, students and teachers can access high-quality spectra used by major companies and research institutions throughout the world. The database includes IR and NMR spectra for over 1,200 specially selected compounds that cover a broad range of chemical classes useful within the chemistry curriculum. Each compound contains cross-referenced spectral data for IR, 1H NMR, and 13CNMR and value-added information, such as technique, molecular formula, molecular weight, CAS Registry Number, melting point, and boiling point.


Each spectral record in the IQ Academic Spectral Database also contains a web link to supplemental information on that compound or class of compounds from Sadtler’s world-renowned spectral handbooks. These essential handbooks for IR and NMR highlight pertinent peak information to distinguish between chemical classes that can be useful spectral interpretation.

Marie Scandone, Database Product Manager, remarked, “These compounds were carefully chosen so that they can be used within the college curriculum for both organic chemistry and analytical chemistry. In addition to serving as a teaching aid, this database can be used by teachers and students in their research activities to establish the identity of compounds in the laboratory through empirical comparison via functional group analysis.”

The IQ Database can be used in conjunction with Bio-Rad’s KnowItAll Academic Edition, a software package that includes chemistry and spectroscopy tools and is offered for free to teachers and students at www.knowitall.com/academic .

Gregory M. Banik, Ph.D., Bio-Rad General Manager of Informatics commented, “We have had an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the free Academic Edition software as educators have integrated these powerful tools into their curriculum. We now look forward to broadening this fully functional and well-rounded toolset with more advanced options at affordable prices with the release of KnowItAll version 4.1.”


About Spectroscopy

Spectroscopy is a commonly used method of analysis used to examine chemical compounds in the laboratory. There are several types of spectroscopy, including infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS), Raman, and Near IR (NIR).


About Bio-Rad

Bio-Rad’s Informatics Division (www.informatics.bio-rad.com ) specializes in state-of-the-art software and database solutions for the pharmaceutical, biotech and chemical industries. Bio-Rad is the leading publisher of fully verified spectral databases, cheminformatics, spectroscopy software, and decision support systems for drug discovery. The company’s award-winning KnowItAll Informatics System offers a fully integrated environment with flexible, expandable software and database solutions for spectroscopy (MS, NMR, IR, Raman, spectral data management), cheminformatics, and ADME/Tox prediction.

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (www.bio-rad.com ) is a multinational manufacturer and distributor of life science research, clinical diagnostics and informatics products. It is based in Hercules, California, and serves more than 70,000 research and industry customers worldwide through a network of more than 30 wholly owned subsidiary offices.