The key to the success of this process is the conversion of any entered chemical name or registry number into a chemical structure, given that chemicals are better described by structures than by names or registry numbers. #chemical #weapons

Read our article to see how the cheminformatics tool that we propose, composed of an up-to-date database of relevant lists of controlled chemicals with an associated easy-to-use software, could help address these problems. #chemical #weapons

Lastly, lists of controlled chemicals are subject to change and must be kept current. Such a task can be daunting if the lists are not kept in a centralized database. #chemical #weapons

This family-based approach is key to ensure that the lists are general and comprehensive. However, it makes it difficult for non-chemists to ascertain whether a chemical is part of a controlled family on the basis of its name or registry number. #chemical #weapons

Moreover, some lists define whole families of related chemicals of concern in a single entry, without enumerating the chemicals that make up the family. #chemical #weapons

Thus, the fact that a chemical name or a registry number is not found in a list of controlled chemicals is not sufficient to conclude that the list does not cover the chemical in question. #chemical #weapons

However, chemical names have a multitude of synonyms and different versions of the same chemical, for instance isotopically labeled versions, have different registry numbers. #chemical #weapons

The lists of controlled chemicals are based on chemical names and registry numbers. #chemical #weapons

In this paper, we have conceptualized a cheminformatics tool that could help frontline officers and chemical industries to overcome several practical problems inherent to the way in which the identification of such chemicals is currently conducted. #chemical #weapons

Lists of chemicals are a fundamental component of national legislation and international frameworks that aim at ridding the world of chemical weapons, such as the @OPCW-administered Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). #chemical #weapons