Chemical Abstracts is produced by the ACS and is available either in hardcopy or CD-ROM form in most institution libraries that have a chemistry department. It is not legally available free over the Internet. If your school does not have access, the librarian should be able to ascertain the nearest library that holds the hardcopy CA and also permits public access. CA volumes are not available for interloan. Many information sources now also use the CAS RN to overcome potential nomenclature confusion.
Most governments have a patent office, and there are usually branches in main centres.
If you are able to obtain access to the patents at the patent office, and are familiar with patent codes, or know the patent number, the cost will be lower than using a patent attorney. If you do not know how to search for patents, and your time is valuable, you will find that using a patent attorney will be very cost effective. The chemicals usually found in home chemistry sets can usually be purchased at the shop where the set was obtained, or the local hardware shop or pharmacist, provided the chemical is not subject to government or state restrictions. Many chemicals are only available to approved purchasers. Most national chemical societies publish an annual listing of suppliers with their journals.