CIARA Version 2.70 now available.
CIARA stores chemical information and assists in planning chemical reactions. It calculates information such as molecular weights, moles, reactant amounts, percent yields, and elemental analysis. A Materials List with over 1000 reactants is included. The addition of chemical structures and an experimental makes this a valuable component of an electronic laboratory notebook. A complete description of this product is given below. Click here for a quick look at some of the features of CIARA.
CIARA Version
2.70
Download a fully functional copy of CIARA for
a 90 day evaluation. Click here for instructions on how
to download CIARA
.
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Each topic contains a written description and a graphic. Although the
graphics takes time to download they give an excellent idea of the functionality
available.
CIARA
is a calculations and database program for chemists. It eliminates much of the
tedious work of calculating chemical reaction data such as molecular weights,
moles, reactant amounts, percent yields, etc. A minimum amount of information is
entered and CIARA
does the rest. Because CIARA is a database program all records can be stored and searched. If you
want to scale up a reaction simply retrieve an existing record, change one value, and
everything is recalculated including solvent volumes.
Each record in a CIARA
database represents a single chemical reaction. Data is entered on two Reactant
Pages, one Products Page, and an Experimental Page. All of the data can be
printed or copied in a convenient form for use in a report or a laboratory
notebook. CIARA contains an extensive Materials List to
assist with data entry. The Solver option provides great flexibility in the calculations.
Other useful features include the Elemental Analysis calculator and the Total Volume
calculator.
CIARA
contains all of the tools necessary to calculate chemical reactions so you will
no longer need a calculator. CIARA saves time,
reduces errors, and enhances productivity.
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Each record in a CIARA database accommodates twelve Reactants. Reactants 1-6 are displayed on Reactants Page 1 and Reactants 7-12 are displayed on Reactants Page 2.
Click here to see a graphic of Reactants Page 1.
The information associated with a Reactant is divided into three categories: Scale and Stoichiometry; Reference Values; and Calculated Values. Reactant information is entered, displayed, and stored in the following fields:
| Scale and Stoichiometry | Reference Values | Calculated Values |
CIARA eliminates the need for calculations. As soon as the Scale,
Stoichiometry, and Reference Values are input, the Calculated Values are displayed.
Color coding assists in using the program. White and yellow boxes are for values that are
typically known or decided (including Reference Values, Scale, and Stoichiometry). Values
are entered by clicking the box and typing text. Gray boxes are for values that are
calculated and displayed automatically. The Solver can be used to set values in
gray
boxes.
CIARA uses blue to indicate labels can be changed by clicking the
label (or using options on the Labels menu) to toggle through a list of alternative units.
The following choices are available for weight, volume, and mole values:
When a label is changed, existing values automatically are recalculated to correspond to the new unit.
In some cases the blue label toggles between different box types such as Density, Concentration, or Weight Percent. Blue labels also toggle Solvent Volume/Weight and Solvent Name boxes to Density of Solution and the corresponding Weight of Solution or Volume of Solution boxes.
CIARA uses red flags to indicate when undisplayed text is present
in a box. Clicking the red flag expands the box for viewing. All data is present when the
record is printed or copied.
Molecular weight values are calculated from the molecular formula, or they can be manually
input. Values that are manually input are indicated by a blue label with a pink boarder.
Each record in a CIARA database accommodates six Products that are displayed on the Products Page.
Click here to see a graphic of the Products Page.
The information associated with a Product is divided into three categories: Stoichiometry, Reference Values, and Calculated Values. Product information is entered, displayed, and stored in the following fields:
| Stoichiometry | Reference Values | Calculated Values |
As soon as the Stoichiometry, and Reference Values are input, the Calculated Values are displayed. The Solver can be used to set values in the white boxes.
The Reaction page will accept any type of graphic by pasting the graphic from the clipboard. Typically this will be a graphic representing the chemical reaction for the current record; however, the page will accept other types of graphic images.
Click here to see a graphic of the Reaction Page.
The Graphics page will accept any type of graphic by pasting the graphic from the clipboard. Typically this will be a graphic representing the chemical reaction for the current record; however, the page will accept other types of graphic images.
Click here to see a graphic of the Graphics Page.
Each record in a CIARA database can have one experimental associated with it.
Click here to see a graphic of the Experimental Page.
The Experimental Page is one large text box. You may include information such as the reaction procedure, references, analytical data, and miscellaneous comments. This box will not accept graphics.
CIARA provides a Materials List to store and retrieve the following information for Reactants and Products:
Click here to see a graphic of the Materials List.
Information from the Materials List can be transferred easily to the corresponding
boxes on the Reactants or Products Pages.
CIARA
provides a list of 1000 common Reactants and Solvents. You may
choose to incorporate this list into any database. You may create your own Materials List
or add to an existing list.
CIARA
allows great flexibility in entering and calculating the
amounts of Reactants and Products.
When designing your own experiment typically you decide the ratio of Reactants,
the amount for one Reactant, and then calculate the amounts of the other
Reactants. When increasing the scale of a reaction you multiply all Reactant
amounts by the scaling factor. CIARA
does all of these calculations for you.
At times you may want to change the amount of one Reactant without effect the amounts the
other Reactants. Solver allows you to set the moles, weight, or volume of a Reactant by
adjusting the equivalents.
Click here to see a graphic of the Solver.
Some experiments in the literature list the amounts of the Reactants but the corresponding equivalents are not given. Solver can be used to calculate the equivalents for these Reactants.
All records in a CIARA database are sequenced in alphanumeric order based on Record Names. When a database is opened the last record is displayed. You can browse easily through the database page by page, or search for a record using the Find Record option. This option generates a list that can be browsed.
Click here to see a graphic of the Find Record option.
CIARA has a function that will estimate the total reaction volume for the current record. This function adds all known reactant and solvent volumes and estimates the volume of liquid reactants with no given density and solid reactants by assuming a density of one. You can include or exclude each reactant or solvent and these selections are saved with the record.
Click here to see a graphic of the Calculate Total Volume Dialog Box.
The Elemental Analysis for each Reactant and Product is readily available.
Click here to see a graphic of the Elemental Analysis dialog
box.
CIARA
is useful for creating reports and presentations, and it is
an essential component of an electronic research notebook. All data can be printed or
copied in convenient table form. The copied data can be edited when pasted into another
application.
Click here to see a graphic of a printed record.
You may choose to include or exclude the following fields when printing:
Record Name and Date
Reactant Data
Product Data
Experimental
CIARA allows you to save a custom configuration with each
database. Items that can be configured include the size and position of the open screens,
the significant figure format for weights and volumes, the label settings, and the copy
and print options.
CIARA includes a feature to export a complete or partial database to
a new or existing database. Materials Lists can be transferred between databases.
An extensive tutorial is include with CIARA and this is the best way
to learn how to use the program.