Why are you including InChIs in DSSTox data files?
Since public software tools are currently available to generate InChI codes for an sdf file, the question might be asked why we are providing them in our files? The answer is that we wish to support and endorse this public initiative and raise the public awareness of the use and value of InChIs. Two aspects of InChI chemical identifier codes make it very attractive: 1) that the technology (to convert structures to InChIs and, vice-versa, i.e. InChIs back to structures) is XML-based, entirely in the public domain, and NOT a registry system; and 2) that an InChI is a unique chemical identifier capable of encoding very nuanced and detailed chemical structure information, if available. We also want to follow the lead of others and encourage the use of InChIs to “tag” chemical information with chemical structures wherever such information is found on the internet. For an example of how a DSSTox Source collaborated used InChIs provided in our files to enhance public data offerings, see the n
