Cambridge Structural Database as a tool for studies of general structural features of organic molecular crystals

The review surveys and generalises data on the use of the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) for studying and revealing general structural features of organic molecular crystals. It is demonstrated that software and facilities of the CSD allow one to test the applicability of a number of known concepts of organic crystal chemistry (the principle of close packing, the frequency of occurrence of space groups, the preferred formation of centrosymmetrical molecular crystals, etc.) on the basis of abundant statistical data. Examples of the use of the Cambridge Structural Database in engineering of molecular crystals and in the systematic search for compounds with specified properties are given. The bibliography includes 122 references.