Recent Advances in Development, Validation, and Exploitation of QSAR Models

Abstract

Counting more than 45 years of intensive development and applications, QSAR modeling remains one of the major computational approaches for drug discovery and environmental chemical risk assessment. Recent developments in the field reflect the burgeoning growth of bioactivity and chemical databases. This growth provides a never-ending impetus for the development of a growing body of QSAR models and their application for virtual screening to prioritize chemicals for experimental investigations. This chapter reviews recent and emerging trends in the QSAR modeling field with the emphasis on new approaches to chemical and biological data curation, model validation, virtual screening, and potential application of QSAR models by federal agencies for regulatory decision making. Keywords: databases; data curation; modeling workflow; model validation; virtual screening