Chemically Intelligent Database a Reality

The chemically intelligent database is now a reality as Lhasa Limited announces the release of Version 4 of its database and management system for toxicity data, Vitic (pronounced V-eye-tick).

Vitic’s ability to recognise and search for similarities in chemical structures means it is an essential research tool for Toxicologists working in Drug Discovery or Product Safety, and is especially useful in (Quantitative) Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) modelling.

Dave Watson CEO announced that “The dedication and focus of the project team under the enthusiastic leadership of Karen Young has ensured the overall success and on-time delivery of Vitic 4.”

The Vitic 4 database schema has been revised to improve search times, and now provides editing tools to enable in-house data to be imported and edited in the Vitic database. In addition, users can tailor the database schema to their own requirements, making Vitic 4 an incredibly adaptable and versatile chemical database.

In addition to their work updating and expanding the high quality toxicity data provided by Lhasa Limited, the Vitic Database Team responded to feedback from members, which highlighted the need for improvements in chemical name searching. "Chemicals are often known by several different names." explains Katharine Briggs, one of the Vitic Database Scientists. "It has been a challenge, but we have updated the chemical records to include their synonyms, resulting in a much more effective name search."

Throughout development, the Vitic team have adapted their plans in direct response to member’s comments, demonstrating Lhasa Limited’s member-focused outlook, and resulting in a unique, user-friendly system for the management of chemical data.