Chemical space is the space spanned by all possible (i.e. energetically stable) molecules and chemical compounds – that is, all stoichiometric combinations of electrons and atomic nuclei, in all possible topology isomers. Chemical reactions allow us to move in chemical space. The mapping between chemical space and molecular properties is often not unique, meaning that there can be multiple molecules which exhibit the same properties. Material design and drug discovery both involve the exploration of chemical space.
As of July 2009, there were 49,037,297 organic and inorganic substances registered with the Chemical Abstracts Service, indicating that they have been reported in the scientific literature. Systematic exploration of chemical space is possible by creating in silico databases of virtual molecules.
Famous quotes containing the words chemical and/or space:
“Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into war, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves, engage in child labor, exchange information ceaselessly. They do everything but watch television.”
—Lewis Thomas (b. 1913)
“The limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical,
But the good ones I’ve seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.”
—Anonymous.