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| The
Prototype (1996) |
|
| With the launch of our first web site,
one of the first free web-based spectral databases was introduced to the chemical research
community. The name "Spectra Online" had not been coined at the time, but
visitors to the site could search a small collection of FT-IR spectra using a simple text
lookup and view the spectra from any web browser. This early prototype demonstrated that
the information content stored in spectral databases could be delivered across the web.
However, perhaps more importantly, it planted the seeds for developing software to store
and deliver spectral data across client-server network architectures such as the Internet.
|
|
| Version
I (1998) |
|
| When the web site was
redesigned, a new version of the database was also built and formally named "Spectra
Online." This version was powered by the emerging Spectral
Server technology, and the site quickly evolved into a highly sophisticated search and
retrieval service for spectral data. By this time the database collection had grown to
over 6,000 spectra including data from various instrumental techniques such as FT-IR, MS,
NMR, UV-Vis and NIR. The database was also expanded to include more information on the
compounds available (i.e., CAS#, molecular formula, molecular weight, boiling point,
melting point, technique, and chemical structure). |
|
| In addition to text-based searches,
users could upload FT-IR data files in the SPC format for comparison against
the FT-IR spectra in the database using a variety of data matching algorithms. The site
also added the ability to view the spectra using an interactive Java applet in addition to
the "point-and-click" GIF images of the data. |
|
| Version
II (2001) |
|
| Thanks to several new public domain and
donated collections, Spectra Online's searchable database has now expanded to include over
26,000 spectra. The database has been completely rebuilt and merged with other databases
of physical properties to give as much information as possible for the pure compounds it
contains. More powerful text lookup queries are presented in a redesigned user interface
that allows you to locate spectra more easily, using Compound Name, CAS Number, Molecular
Formula, and Molecular Weight search parameters. |
|
| The site also supports full spectral
matching for FT-IR, UV-Vis, Raman, NIR, and MS spectra. Backed by our
SmartConvert technology, the site can read nearly any commercial instrument data file
format (including SPC format). Performing a spectral match search of the
database is as simple as selecting a data file and submitting it directly from a web
browser |
|
| Users can also upload their own spectral
data files directly into the Spectra Online database for all other users to access. As
with the spectral matching, SmartConvert technology will automatically
identify the data file format and translate it into the database. Uploaded spectra can be
attached to any compound that exists in the database, or users can create a new compound
entry and fill in the relevant information. |
|
| The Spectra Online web site is built
around the most recent version of Spectral
Server technology, a powerful set of software components for archiving,
managing, searching and mining analytical instrument data (spectra and chromatograms) in
enterprise-wide databases.
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|
 The
Database
|