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Keeping track of chemical structures is no mean feat for any molecular
architect. Hence a plug in for Microsoft’s spreadsheet Excel Accord for Excel
(Synopsys Scientific Systems, £695 commercial/£415 academic, tel:
0113 245 3339, fax: 0113 243 8733, sales@synopsis.co.uk) which makes the
whole task of controlling one’s reactions far simpler, at least virtually.
Synopsys says that Accord for Excel “understands chemistry the way you do”. As
with a good spreadsheet, Accord allows calculations with a difference. Paste in
a compound, and you can calculate its molecular mass and elemental percentages
with just a mouse click. Results can be fed into more complex functions: for
example, a chemical group’s mass might be subtracted from a selection of
compounds—useful for mass spectrometrists and others. Accord can even work
out the textual Smiles formulae for a molecule from a chemical drawing, more
than many a chemist can do.