Molecular surface area, QSARs based

Three sets of molecular descriptors that can be computed from a molecular connection table are defined. The descriptors are based on the subdivision and classification of the molecular surface area according to atomic properties (such as contribution to logP, molar refractivity, and partial charge). The resulting 32 descriptors are shown (a) to be weakly correlated with each other (b) to encode many traditional molecular descriptors and (c) to be useful for QSAR, QSPAR, and compound classification. 

In the present work, we will use a relatively low level of theory to derive 32 weakly correlated molecular descriptors, each based on the subdivision and classification of the molecular surface area according to three fundamental properties contribution to ClogP, molar refractivity, and atomic partial charge. The resulting collection will be shown to have applicability in QSAR, QSPR, and compound classification. Moreover, the derived 32 descriptors linearly encode most of the information of a collection of traditional mathematical descriptors used in QSAR and QSPR. 

Different physical properties and molecular models have been used to define the molecular surface the most common are reported below together with the descriptors proposed as measures of surface areas and molecular volume (- volume descriptors). Molecular surface area and volume are parameters of molecules that are very important in understanding their structure and chemical behaviour such as their ability to bind ligands and other molecules. An analysis of molecular surface shape is also an important tool in QSAR and - drug design-, in particular, both - molecular shape analysis and - Mezey 3D shape analysis were developed to search for similarities among molecules, based on their molecular shape. 

The MEP at the molecular surface has been used for many QSAR and QSPR applications. Quantum mechanically calculated MEPs are more detailed and accurate at the important areas of the surface than those derived from net atomic charges and are therefore usually preferable [Ij. However, any of the techniques based on MEPs calculated from net atomic charges can be used for full quantum mechanical calculations, and vice versa. The best-known descriptors based on the statistics of the MEP at the molecular surface are those introduced by Murray and Politzer [44]. These were originally formulated for DFT calculations using an isodensity surface. They have also been used very extensively with semi-empirical MO techniques and solvent-accessible surfaces [1, 2]. The charged polar surface area (CPSA) descriptors proposed by Stanton and Jurs [45] are also based on charges derived from semi-empirical MO calculations. 

Quantitative structure-activity or structure-performance (property) relationships (QSAR and QSPR respectively) are of increasing interest in a wide diversity of technology areas. With some notable exceptions, most QSA(P)R studies associated with heterogeneous catalysis are restricted to zeolite-based catalysts. The reasoning is simple -the well defined 3-D structures, of molecular-sieve zeolites, are a reasonable representation of the catalyst "surface", hence bulk characterisation provides information on the catalyst. It is for a similar reason that the majority of modelling studies involves zeolites and zeotypes. 

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