A computer system for structural identification of organic compounds from ¹³C NMR data

A computerised library search system for 13 C NMR data is described. Given the spectral data of an unknown compound, the system will retrieve from the library those reference compounds exhibiting similar spectra. For comparison the spectral data are converted into a binary code, designed to reflect the underlying structure rather than exact values for chemical shifts. Thus, the ability of the system to retrieve compounds similar to the unknown (as opposed to identical) is greatly enhanced. A sophisticated search strategy adapting itself automatically to the problem at hand makes the system highly efficient.