The Beilstein CrossFire database system is one of the most popular, most extensive, and most accomplished systems presenting information about chemical substances, including drugs, and covering the basic identification, physico-chemical, ecological, and pharmacological data. The present article offers an overviewof historical evaluation of the Beilstein CrossFire database system, beginning from its founder Prof. Friedrich Conrad Beilstein till the most recent prospects about the connection of classical data with full-text databases. The article also offers a review of the development of electronic information systems in the Slovak Republic, a definition of basic functionality of the Beilstein CrossFire database system, and an example of targeted selection of active substances structurally similar to novel COX-2 inhibitors having an approved anti-inflammatory activity.

        Key words: Beilstein CrossFire – basic functionality – use of information systems – cheminformatics in medicinal chemistry