CAS roles are powerful CAS indexing terms that allow you to search for precise information on substances. Roles are assigned to every indexed substance and to controlled index terms for classes of compounds. You can search specific roles and super roles; all are listed below.
The PREP (Preparation) role is assigned for documents from 1907 to the present. Most other CAS roles are available for documents from 1967 to date. You can search roles in all of the CA/CAplus family of databases.
Roles
Note: Super roles have 4-letter codes. Specific roles have 3-letter codes. Under each super role are listed the specific roles that are retrieved when you search that super role.
| ANST Analytical Study | ||
| ANT | Analyte | |
| AMX | Analytical Matrix | |
| ARG | Analytical Reagent Use | |
| ARU | Analytical Role, Unclassified | |
| BIOL Biological Study | ||
| ADV | Adverse Effect, Including Toxicity | |
| AGR | Agricultural Use | |
| BAC | Biological Activity or Effector, Except Adverse (2) | |
| BCP | Biochemical Process (3) | |
| BMF | Bioindustrial Manufacture | |
| BPN | Biosynthetic Preparation | |
| BSU | Biological Study, Unclassified | |
| BUU | Biological Use, Unclassified | |
| COS | Cosmetic Use (3) | |
| DGN | Diagnostic Use (3) | |
| FFD | Food or Feed Use | |
| NPO | Natural Product Occurrence (3) | |
| PAC | Pharmacological Activity (3) | |
| PKT | Pharmacokinetics (3) | |
| THU | Therapeutic Use | |
| CMBI Combinatorial Study (3) | ||
| FORM Formation, Nonpreparative | ||
| FMU | Formation, Unclassified | |
| GFM | Geological or Astronomical Formation | |
| NANO Nanomaterial (4) | ||
| OCCU Occurrence | ||
| GOC | Geological or Astronomical Occurrence | |
| NPO | Natural Product Occurrence (3) | |
| OCU | Occurrence, Unclassified | |
| POL | Pollutant | |
| PREP Preparation (5) | ||
| BMF | Bioindustrial Manufacture | |
| BPN | Biosynthetic Preparation | |
| BYP | Byproduct | |
| IMF | Industrial Manufacture | |
| PUR | Purification or Recovery | |
| SPN | Synthetic Preparation | |
| PROC Process | ||
| BCP | Biochemical Process (3) | |
| GPR | Geological or Astronomical Process | |
| PEP | Physical, Engineering, or Chemical Process | |
| REM | Removal or Disposal | |
| PRPH Prophetic Substance (7) | ||
| RACT Reactant or Reagent (3, 6) | ||
| RCT | Reactant (6) | |
| RGT | Reagent (3) | |
| SCLM Substance Claimed (9) | ||
| USES Uses | ||
| AGR | Agricultural Use | |
| ARG | Analytical Reagent Use | |
| BUU | Biological Use, Unclassified | |
| CAT | Catalyst Use | |
| COS | Cosmetic Use (3) | |
| DGN | Diagnostic Use (3) | |
| FFD | Food or Feed Use | |
| MOA | Modifier or Additive Use | |
| NUU | Other Use, Unclassified (8) | |
| POF | Polymer in Formulation | |
| TEM | Technical or Engineered Material Use | |
| THU | Therapeutic Use | |
| Specific roles that are not associated with any super roles: | ||
| MSC | Miscellaneous | |
| PRP | Properties | |
(2) Used from CA Vol. 66 (1967) to Vol. 135 (2001).
(3) Used starting with CA Vol. 136 (2002).
(4) Used starting with CA Vol. 116 (1992).
(5) The PREP super role has been added to records back to 1907.
(6) Searching the RCT role retrieves references from CA Vol. 66 (1967) to the present. Searching the RACT super role retrieves references with RCT or RGT references starting with CA Vol. 136 (2002).
(7) Used starting with records from 2003 to the present.
(8) Starting in 2002, the searchable text for the NUU role changed from NONBIOLOGICAL USE, UNCLASSIFIED/RL to OTHER USE, UNCLASSIFIED/RL. Search NUU/RL to retrieve records from CA Vol. 66 (1967) to the present.
(9) SCLM role assignment corresponds to PatentPak claim tags coverage.
Note: The roles CPN, CPS, CRG, CRT, CST, CUS, DEV, DMA, EPR, MFM, and PYP are no longer in use, but have been mapped to current roles. The roles BOC, BPR, and PNU have been eliminated and are no longer searchable, but have been replaced by broader roles when appropriate.
Example Use Cases
Example 1: Find references to the therapeutic use or toxic effects of dimethyl sulfoxide (CAS Registry Number 67-68-5).
Step 1: In a CA/CAplus database, search the CAS Registry Number® followed by a slash and the code for the role.
To search for any of multiple roles, separate the roles with commas, and no space. (Example: = > S 67-68-5/THU,ADV). To require that both roles be present, search the roles separately, and combine them with an AND (Example: = > S
67-68-5/THU and 67-68-5/ADV.)
Step 2: Display answers. Include HITRN in your display format to more easily see searched items. Roles display as codes along with their names in the Role (RL) field within the Index Term (IT) field.
Example 2: Find references for the synthetic preparation of fullerenes.
Step 1: Search CAS REGISTRYSM for CAS Registry Numbers of the substances of interest.
Step 2: In a CA/CAplus database, search the REGISTRY L-number answer set (L1), followed by a slash and the role code (SPN for synthetic preparation). You can supplement this strategy by also searching the roles assigned to appropriate index terms for classes of compounds (FULLERENES). Append the index term for a class of compounds with a slash and the role code.
Online Thesaurus for CAS Roles
To use the online thesaurus, enter a term in the EXPAND or SEARCH command followed by the plus sign (+) and the relationship code followed by /RL. The following relationship codes are available:
ALL (for all associated terms including NOTE)
BT (for all broader terms)
HIE (for all broader and narrower terms)
NOTE (for role definitions)
NT (for narrower terms)
Example 3. What roles are available for preparation?
Step 1: Expand on a term followed by +ALL/RL to display the definition of the term (NOTE), plus all broader and narrower terms.