Caffeine
A single molecule in ACS 1996 style.
Chemical Structure Drawer
FigranDraw a molecule or paste SMILES, and download it at journal size.
- Draw or paste SMILES
- ACS 1996 style
- Free SVG and 300 DPI PNG
Compounds
Molecule editor
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Enter a valid structure and wait for the drawing engines before downloading.
Chemical structure drawer examples
Load an example to explore structures and figure settings.
Paclitaxel
A complex natural product with stereochemical bonds.
Penicillin G
A fused β-lactam ring with colored atoms.
Menthol
A stereochemical ring structure.
Sucrose
A disaccharide with multiple stereocenters.
Statin compound panel
A panel of related statin structures.
Strychnine
A bridged polycyclic structure in presentation style.
Metformin hydrochloride
A compound with a chloride component.
How to draw a chemical structure
Create a figure in four steps.
1Draw or paste
Use the editor or paste a SMILES string.
2Add compounds
Add structures and give them labels.
3Choose a style
Choose ACS 1996 or presentation styling.
4Download
Save your figure or molecular data.
ACS 1996 style and figure size
The ACS 1996 preset follows the ChemDraw ACS Document 1996 settings for bond length, line width and label size.
1234- 1Bond length: 14.4 pt
- 2Atom label: 10 pt
- 3Wedge bonds show stereochemistry
- 4Bold compound label
| Setting | ACS 1996 | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| Bond length | 14.4 pt | 14.4 pt |
| Line width | 0.6 pt | 1.2 pt |
| Atom label size | 10 pt | 14 pt |
Skeletal formulas at the same scale
Compounds in a panel use the same bond length, so their relative sizes remain visible. Check the final width against your target journal’s author guidelines.
References: ChemDraw ACS Document 1996 settings · Drawing engines: RDKit and OpenChemLib (BSD-3-Clause)
SMILES to structure
Paste a SMILES string to turn it into a skeletal formula. Stereochemical markers can produce wedge bonds.
c1ccccc1
C[C@@H]1CC[C@H]([C@@H](C1)O)C(C)C
CN(C)C(=N)N=C(N)N.Cl
Structure to SMILES
Copy SMILES exports the canonical representation of the selected structure. You can copy a SMILES from PubChem and paste it here.
Chemical structure drawer FAQ
How do I draw a chemical structure online?
Draw bonds in the editor or paste SMILES, then download PNG or SVG. No installation or sign-in is required.
Is this a free ChemDraw alternative?
It is free for drawing and exporting structures at ACS 1996 scale. ChemDraw and ChemSketch also offer features such as reactions and name conversion that are outside this tool.
What is a skeletal formula?
Lines represent bonds; ends and corners usually represent carbon atoms. Carbon-bound hydrogens are omitted, while heteroatoms are shown.
How do I convert SMILES to a structure?
Paste one SMILES in the text field, or add a list with one per line. Stereo markers can be rendered as wedge bonds.
What are the ACS 1996 settings, and will my figure be the right size?
The preset uses a 14.4 pt bond length, 0.6 pt line width and 10 pt atom labels. SVG and PNG include physical size information; check the target journal’s instructions.
Can I draw a structure from its name?
Name-to-structure conversion is not available here. Find the compound in PubChem and paste its SMILES.
Do I need to install chemical drawing software?
No. The drawing engines run in your browser, and your structures stay on your device.
What files can I download, and are they free?
Download PNG at 300 or 600 DPI, SVG, MOL/SDF or SMILES without a watermark or sign-in. Combine an SVG with other figures in the Multi-Panel Figure Maker.
Ready to draw your structure?
Create a journal-size molecular figure in your browser.
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