Chemical Library and Extract Library collection

The collection comprises more than 9000 items. They are composed of isolated or synthesized pure molecules, natural extracts, gums, resins ... the oldest samples date from the beginning of the 19th century and the most recent have been added during the last ten years. These collections are managed by the research unit MCAM - UMR 7245 (Molecules of Communication and Adaptation of Microorganisms).

The "screening" chemical library

In 1997, the scientific community has become interested in the various biological functions revealed by the decoding of the human genome. Thousands of new proteins were discovered at the time but a biological function still had to be attributed to them. One idea was to search for molecules that could interact with these proteins. Chemists then had the idea of collecting the "forgotten" molecules, chemicals and natural substances that were just sitting on a shelve in French public laboratories. In 2006 chemists of the Muséum chemists joined this national movement by collecting historic molecules, particularly those stored in the chemistry laboratory.

Chimiothèque

Chimiothèque

© MNHN - S. Amand / C. Maulay-Bailly

The "screening" chemical library of the National Museum of Natural History comprises over 3200 molecules, mainly historical natural products, which make it a very diverse and truly original resource. These products, whether they have been extracted or synthesized, are mostly the result of ongoing research work in chemistry at the Museum. This collection is regularly enriched with new natural fungal products or those derived from syntheses. Each susbtance is stored in the form of amorphous powder at ambient temperature, and one part is in solution form in DMSO at -20°C and are packaged in 96-well plates that are easily accessible for high-throughput screenings.

The Museum’s chemical library is an active member of the National chemical library and the ChemBioFrance infrastructure.

The Extract library

In parallel to the collection of « forgotten molecules », chemists of the Museum became interested in the valorisation of the natural extracts of the various organisms kept in the collections of the Museum. In 2008, they decided to create an extract library, a bank of natural extracts.

The National Museum of Natural History's Extractothèque comprises 710 extracts from mushrooms, marine invertebrates, sponges, plants and also microorganisms. The number of extracts is steadily increasing thanks to transversal projects that involve different naturalist collections of the Museum. These extracts are preserved in ethanol solution and also in DMSO at -20°C and are packaged in 96-well plates that are easily accessible for high-throughput screenings.

Extractothèque

Extractothèque

© MNHN - S. Amand / C. Maulay-Bailly

The Museum’s Extractotheque  is an active member of the National chemical library and the ChemBioFrance infrastructure.

The "historic" chemical library of the Museum

It comprises more than 7300 items, flasks of natural and synthesized products that are markers of the Museum’s chemistry history, it contains "hidden treasures", such as the first sample of cholesterol isolated by Michel-Eugène Chevreul in 1814, the synthetic rubies obtained by Edmond Fremy, or even the poisoned spearheads that allowed Albert Arnaud to isolate ouabaïne...

This collection is stored in display cases in the Chevreul’s room of the Chemistry laboratory, located at 63, rue Buffon. The building was built in 1872 to house the School of Chemistry opened by Edmond Frémy, and trained more than 1,400 students. For examples : Henri Moissan, the first Frenchman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1906), Léon Arnaud, Alexandre Etard, Gabriel Bertrand, Auguste Verneuil, Henri Becquerel, Jacques Curie…

Chimiothèque historique du laboratoire de chimie

© MNHN - A. Iatzoura

Chimiothèque historique du laboratoire de chimie

© MNHN - A. Iatzoura

Chimiothèque historique du Laboratoire de chimie

© MNHN - A. Iatzoura

Chimiothèque historique du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle

© MNHN

Chimiothèque historique du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle

© MNHN

Research

The chemical library and the extractotheque are powerful tools for discovery and research valorisation. They are available for scientists within research partnerships, governed by confidentiality agreements (MTA, Material Transfer Agreement) drafted with the help of the Muséum’s legal unit and research valorisation unit.

The aim of this collection is to promote the scientific valorisation of the compounds and natural extracts produced in the Muséum’s research laboratories and to tell the story of chemistry at the Museum.

Chemical Library

Extract Library

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