Research Guides: Drug Information: Journal Articles

Bibliographic Databases (for locating journal articles)

Health sciences literature databases house the body of drug research. Here are links to the most popular bibliographic databases with searching tips for finding drug-specific information.

When searching for information about a particular drug or substance, note that most drugs have may be referred to by several different names: trade name, generic name, and chemical name. Therefore, in order to get the most comprehensive global search results, synonyms must be used.

Trade name - proprietary, brand name for the drug; often differs based on country of manufacture, e.g. Tylenol (U.S.) is the same as Panadol (Australia)
Generic name - non-proprietary name for the drug; sometimes differs based on country of manufacture, e.g. acetaminophen (U.S.) is the same as paracetamol (U.K., Japan)
Chemical name - scientific name for the drug based on it's molecular structure, e.g. N-acetyl-p-aminophenol

Medline via PubMed This link opens in a new window
PubMed comprises over 30 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. It includes the fields of biomedicine and health, covering portions of the life sciences, behavioral sciences, chemical sciences, and bioengineering.
Search MeSH for generic or trade name of drug. Read scope note for drug name, description, chemical name, pharmacologic action, and alternate names. Search on MeSH drug heading and associate it with a subheading such as:
- adverse effects (e.g., Search: insulin/adverse effects)
- administration & dosage (e.g., Search: insulin/administration & dosage)
- therapeutic use (e.g., Search: insulin/therapeutic use)
- toxicity (e.g., Search: insulin/toxicity)
EMBASE: Excerpta Medica 1974 – present (updated daily) This link opens in a new window
EMBASE is a biomedical and pharmaceutical database indexing over 3,500 international journals from 1974 - present in the fields of: drug research, pharmacology, pharmaceutics, toxicology, clinical and experimental human medicine, health policy and management, public health, occupational health, environmental health, drug dependence and abuse, psychiatry, forensic medicine, and biomedical engineering/instrumentation.
The majority of EMBASE's sub-headings are drug-related, including all of those described above for use in PubMed.
Searchable drug-specific indexed fields in EMBASE include:
- du - Drug Index Terms (e.g., Search: nonsteroid antiinflammatory agent.du)
- dy - Drug Index Terms Word (e.g., Search: antiinflammatory.dy)
- mf - Drug Manufacturer (e.g., Search: pfizer.mf)
- tn - Drug Trade Name (e.g., Search: ibuprofen.tn)
CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
CINAHL indexes over 3,800 journals in the fields of nursing and allied health, with indexing for selected journals back to 1937. CINAHL also includes selected books, dissertations, conference proceedings, practice guidelines, and multimedia.
To locate articles on a particular drug, click on CINAHL Subject Headings in the navigation menu at the top of the screen, and enter the generic or trade name of the drug. Indexed drugs will have a subject heading applied.
Nursing & Allied Health Source This link opens in a new window
Nursing and Allied Health Source includes full-text journals and dissertations alongside Systematic Reviews, Evidence Summaries, and Best Practice Information Sheets from the renowned Joanna Briggs Institute.
To locate articles on a particular drug, click on Thesaurus in the navigation menu at the top of the screen. MESH and Proquest thesauri are available. You may enter the generic or trade name of the drug. Indexed drugs will have a subject heading applied.
Scopus This link opens in a new window
Scopus indexes most peer reviewed journals in science, technology, and medicine. It also includes a number of trade publications and conference papers, and can perform author and affiliation searching.

Selected Drug and Pharmacology Journals

NYU subscribes to thousands of drug and pharmacology journals available online or in print. Here are some key drug and pharmacology journals from our collection:

Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics
The authoritative cross-disciplinary journal in experimental and clinical medicine devoted to publishing advances in the nature, action, efficacy, and evaluation of therapeutics.
Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Among the top 10 most cited journals in pharmacology, this journal presents lucid, critical and authoritative reviews of currently important topics in pharmacology.
Clinical Therapeutics
Rapid publication of recent developments in drug therapy, as well as in diagnostics, pharmacoeconomics, health policy, treatment outcomes, and research innovations.
Nature Reviews. Drug Discovery
High-quality reviews and perspectives covering the entire drug discovery and development field, including news and updates on key primary research, technological advances, drug approvals, patent law and emerging industry trends
Drug Resistance Updates
Contains thought-provoking reviews on important developments in drug resistance in infectious disease and cancer, as well as novel drugs and strategies to overcome drug resistance
JAPhA - Journal of the American Pharmacists Association
JAPha publishes original research, reviews, experiences, and opinion articles that link science to contemporary pharmacy practice to improve patient care.
AJHP - American Journal of Health-Systems Pharmacy
Presents peer-reviewed scientific papers on contemporary drug therapy and pharmacy practice innovations in hospitals and health systems.