Identified as the most requested article was "Toward Catalytic Rigid-rod ß-barrels: a Hexamer with Multiple Histidines." Research described in the article focuses on the synthesis of a new rigid-rod ß-barrel for use in catalysis. These barrels or nanotubes permit the storage and movement of chemical substances and have wide applicability in such diverse fields as catalysis, pharmacology, gene therapy, and materials science.
The authors, editors and publisher associated with the most requested article were recognized during the CAS Science Spotlight ceremony. Those honored along with the co-authors were Prof. John Caldwell and Prof. Nina D. Berova, editors of CHIRALITY, the John Wiley & Sons journal that published the winning article. In addition, CAS Science Spotlight also honored Dr. Stephen Buchwald of MIT, as the author of the greatest number of requested articles in 2004.
Since 2001, CAS has been counting Real-Time Document Requests (RDRs) to determine the journal articles that are most sought after by research scientists using the STN, SciFinder and SciFinder Scholar information products. A Real-Time Document Request is counted when a user of a CAS search service accesses the electronic full text of a document identified in a search. Listings of the most requested documents appear in CAS Science Spotlight at http://www.cas.org/spotlight.
"Scientists like to know what are the exciting areas of science," said CAS Vice President, Editorial Operations, Dr. Matthew J. Toussant. "Publications that are frequently requested using CAS electronic services are a very interesting measure of 'the heat of excitement,' the publications scientists must have to do their work. CAS Science Spotlight lets them know the papers that are heating up."
CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, is an organization of scientists creating and delivering the most complete and effective digital information environment for scientific research and discovery. CAS provides pathways to published research in the world's journal and patent literature--virtually everything relevant to chemistry plus a wealth of information in the life sciences and a wide range of other scientific disciplines--back to the beginning of the twentieth century. In addition to offering STN in North America, CAS publishes the print version of Chemical Abstracts, related publications and CD-ROM services; operates the CAS Chemical Registry; produces a family of online databases; and offers the SciFinder desktop research tool. The CAS web site is at http://www.cas.org.
Eric Shively, CAS