HYPERACTIVE MOLECULES AND THE WORLD-WIDE-WEB INFORMATION-SYSTEM

We propose an Internet based standard based on primary chemical MIME t ypes to be used in conjuction with the World-Wide-Web information deli very system. We show how this allows the user to have access to and co ntrol of molecular structural and spectroscopic information transparen tly integrated into scientific publications. We illustrate this with e xamples of what we have termed 'hyperactive molecules' from the areas of quantitative structural modelling, organic synthesis, crystallograp hy, molecular dynamics, NMR, mass and-laser emission spectroscopy. The on-screen annotation of 3D molecular diagrams is achieved using a Che mical Structure Markup Language (CSML) and is illustrated with hyperli nks embedded in. e.g. two dimensional diagrams in NMR spectra. The imp lications of these mechanisms for scientific publication in general, t he impact on the quality and reproducibility of published experimental data and the enhancement of serendipitous discoveries are discussed.