Partial least-squares technique properties

For many applications, quantitative band shape analysis is difficult to apply. Bands may be numerous or may overlap, the optical transmission properties of the film or host matrix may distort features, and features may be indistinct. If one can prepare samples of known properties and collect the FTIR spectra, then it is possible to produce a calibration matrix that can be used to assist in predicting these properties in unknown samples. Statistical, chemometric techniques, such as PLS (partial least-squares) and PCR (principle components of regression), may be applied to this matrix. Chemometric methods permit much larger segments of the spectra to be comprehended in developing an analysis model than is usually the case for simple band shape analyses. 

Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression (Section 35.7) is one of the more recent advances in QSAR which has led to the now widely accepted method of Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA). This method makes use of local physicochemical properties such as charge, potential and steric fields that can be determined on a three-dimensional grid that is laid over the chemical stmctures. The determination of steric conformation, by means of X-ray crystallography or NMR spectroscopy, and the quantum mechanical calculation of charge and potential fields are now performed routinely on medium-sized molecules [10]. Modem optimization and prediction techniques such as neural networks (Chapter 44) also have found their way into QSAR. 

Experience in this laboratory has shown that even with careful attention to detail, determination of coal mineralogy by classical least-squares analysis of FTIR data may have several limitations. Factor analysis and related techniques have the potential to remove or lessen some of these limitations. Calibration models based on partial least-squares or principal component regression may allow prediction of useful properties or empirical behavior directly from FTIR spectra of low-temperature ashes. Wider application of these techniques to coal mineralogical studies is recommended. 

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is becoming an important technique for pharmaceutical analysis. This spectroscopy is simple and easy because no sample preparation is required and samples are not destroyed. In the pharmaceutical industry, NIR spectroscopy has been used to determine several pharmaceutical properties, and a growing literature exists in this area. A variety of chemoinfometric and statistical techniques have been used to extract pharmaceutical information from raw spectroscopic data. Calibration models generated by multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis, principal component analysis, and partial least squares regression analysis have been used to evaluate various parameters. 

Ordinary Least Square regression (OLS), also called Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), is the most common regression technique used to estimate the quantitative relationship between molecular descriptors and the property. Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression is widely applied especially when there are a large number of molecular descriptors with respect to the number of training compounds, as it happens for methods such as GRID and CoMFA. 

Common chemometric tools may be applied to deal with similarity matrices. Particularly, partial least squares (PLS) [73,74] stands as an ideal technique for obtaining a generalized regression for modeling the association between the matrices X (descriptors) and Y (responses). In computational chemistry, its main use is to model the relationship between computed variables, which together characterize the structural variation of a set of N compounds and any property of interest measured on those N substances [75-77]. This variation of the molecular skeleton is condensed into the matrix X, whereas the analyzed properties are recorded into Y. In PLS, the matrix X is commonly built up from nonindependent data, as it usually has more columns than rows hence it is not called the independent matrix, but predictor or descriptor matrix. A good review, as well as its practical application in QSAR, is found in Ref. 78 and a detailed tutorial in Ref. 79. 

Partial least squares Partial least squares (PLS) is a statistical technique often applied to relate physicochemical properties to one or several measurements of biological activity. The PLS results consist of two sets of computed factors which are, on the one hand, linear combinations of the chemical descriptors and, on the other hand, linear combinations of the biological activities. Partial least squares finds many applications in chemometrics and, e.g., in the Tripos CoMFA approach. Normally used in conjunction with cross-validation. 

In this paper we focus on linear relationships between descriptors and biological properties, which are detected by statistical techniques such as multiple linear regression (MLR) or partial least squares analysis (PLS) [64]. A further development are hierarchical PLS models [65-67], which can be employed if fhe descriptors can be grouped into several subsets After a PLS analysis for each subsef, fhe results of these base-level PLS models are combined into a top-level PLS analysis. 

The previous section alludes to the most common problems in quantitative Raman spectroscopic calibrations Most models require that all components in a system to be known and modeled in the calibration data to accurately predict any one component. Inverse calibration techniques such as inverse multiple linear regression (inverse MLR), principal component regression (PCR) and partial least squares (PLS also known as principal latent structures) avoid this problem by forcing the calibration steps to utilize only the spectral features which are either changing (PCR) or directly correlated to the property of interest (PLS). More so, not all components in a sample need to be known to perform an inverse calibration. The basic form of an inverse calibration centers around an equation of the form... 

Very often in DCS-operated batch polymer reactors the primary process variables such as pressure, temperature, level, and flow (Section 12.2.1-12.2.4) are recorded during the batch as well as the quality variables at the end of the batch. However, it may be very difficult to obtain a kinetic model of the polymerization process due to the complexity of the reaction mechanism, which is frequently encountered in the batch manufacture of specialty polymers. In this case it is possible to use advanced statistical techniques such as multi-way principal component analysis (PCA) and multi-way partial least squares (PLS), along with an historical database of past successful batches to construct an empirical model of the batch [8, 58, 59]. This empirical model is used to monitor the evolution of future batch runs. Subsequent unusual events in the future can be detected during the course of the batch by referencing the measured process behavior against this incorrective action during the batch in order to bring it on aim. 

Perhaps the most common application of VS in the determination of chemical makeup in polymeric systems is the identification of components in complex polymer mixtures. Polymeric products are rarely composed of a single component. There are always additives present that aid in processing, appearance, adhesion, chemical stability or other properties important to the function of the final product. In an industrial setting, it is important to be able to determine both the identity and quantity of polymers and additives in a specific formulation for quality control purposes. This can be a fairly routine operation if tools such as spectral libraries are utilized. In this method, a computer search algorithm compares a spectrum with a catalogue of standard spectra to determine the identity of the compovmd or compounds present. Advanced statistical techniques, such as partial least squares (PLS) and principal-component analysis (PCA), are also often used to identify known and unknown components in polymeric systems. The details of these methods are described elsewhere in the Encyclopedia. 

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