SDF File Documentation

Overview

Feature Value
Format Name Standard Data File (SDF)
Primary Use Chemical Data Storage
File Extension .sdf
MIME Type chemical/x-mdl-sdfile
Developed By Molecular Design Limited (MDL)
Data Format Text (ASCII)
Encoding ASCII
Structure Representation 2D or 3D Coordinates
Specification Open Format
Compression Not natively supported
Multi-structure Storage Yes
Structure Delimiter $$$$
Attribute Storage Data fields for additional information
Data Field Format <tag><data></tag>
Non-chemical Data Support Yes, through data fields
Usage in Databases Widely used for chemical compound libraries
Advantages Standard format, easily parsed, supports multiple structures in one file
Limitations Limited metadata, no native support for compression or encryption
Applications Chemical informatics, drug discovery, compound library management
Popularity High in chemical and pharmaceutical industries