Chemical Database Service Blog

The Inorganic Crystal Structure Database (ICSD) is a database of:

• 160,000 inorganic crystal structures
• 1,700 crystal structures of elements

The crystal structures present in the ICSD are taken from:

• 1,900 periodicals
• Records from 1913 – present

Each inorganic crystal structure features additional information:

• Structural formula
• Space group
• Unit cell
• Cell parameters and cell volume
• Experimental details (pressure, temperature, powder/single crystal)
• Bibliographic information

A factsheet with more information about the Cambridge Structural Database can be downloaded here:

The Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) is a collection of >600,000 small-molecule organic and organometallic crystal structures that can be visualised and downloaded using a host of software applications, including:

WebCSD: A browser-based interface to the CSD data

ConQuest: For searching and retrieving CSD data

Mercury: A range of 3D structure visualisation tools

The 3D crystal structures which make up the CSD are derived from the published literature and directly deposited data. Each structure is validated and cross-checked by experts to ensure the CSD remains a highly curated database.

WebCSD allows searching and visualisation of the CSD within a web browser. 3D structures can be exported in *.cif, *.sdf or *.mol2 format.

Search the CSD by:

• Structure / substructure
• Reduced cell
• Structural similarity
• Bibliographic information, compound name

A factsheet with more information about the Cambridge Structural Database can be downloaded here: