Graphical Representation Standards for Chemical Reaction Diagrams

Graphical Representation Standards for Chemical Reaction Diagrams

Description
IUPAC has published recommendations for the graphical representation of chemical structure, and stereochemical configuration. These recommendations form the basis for reaction representation but do not deal with the layout features that apply to reactions. Although existing IUPAC nomenclature recommendations already discuss some aspects of chemical reaction diagrams, they do so only tangentially. Even if they were to be collected in one location, these existing recommendations on chemical reaction diagrams are incomplete, and do not discuss many basic issues. As a result, many organizations have formulated their own guidelines for creating chemical reaction diagrams; however, none of those guidelines is comprehensive. Provision of a single, comprehensive set of guidelines for creating chemical reaction diagrams would be a significant benefit to the chemistry community.

With the ever-increasing importance of electronic publication, this project will consider issues related to the production of chemical reaction diagrams both in printed and in electronic media. Where possible, every effort will be made to ensure identical recommendations in all media. The recommendations for the production of chemical reaction diagrams will aid in the correct recognition of reaction information by the IUPAC International Chemical Identifier (InChI) algorithm.

In some cases, the current state of chemistry software may preclude the use of the most-preferred styles for chemical reaction diagrams. When necessary, this project will also provide practical advice for the production of electronic chemical reaction diagrams according to the current state of the art of chemistry software. It is likely that this project will also produce a set of recommendations for enhancements that chemistry software developers may undertake to improve that state of the art.