Molconn-Z 4.00 Manual: Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Methods Background: Topological Indices

 This chapter presents brief background information on some of the indices computed by Molconn-Z. The user is referred to the materials cited below for more detailed information.

Molecular Connectivity

Definition: Molecular connectivity is a method of molecular structure quantitation in which weighted counts of substructure fragments are incorporated into numerical indices. Structural features such as size, branching, unsaturation, heteroatom content and cyclicity are encoded.

References

  1. L. B. Kier and L. H. Hall, "Molecular Connectivity in Structure-Activity Analysis", John Wiley and Sons, New York (1986).
  2. L. B. Kier and L. H. Hall, Eur. J. Med. Chem., 12, 307 (1977).
  3. L. B. Kier and L. H. Hall, J. Pharm. Sci., 70, 583 (1981).
  4. L. H. Hall and L. B. Kier, Bull. Environ. Contamn. Tox., 32, 354 (1984).
  5. L. H. Hall, "Computational Aspects of Molecular Connectivity and its Role in Structure-Activity Modeling" in Computational Chemical Graph Theory, D. H. Rouvray, Ed., Nova Press, (1989).
  6. L. H. Hall and L. B. Kier, "The Molecular Connectivity Chi Indices and Kappa Shape Indices in Structure-Property Modeling ", in Reviews of Computational Chemistry, Volume 2, D. B. Boyd and K. Lipkowitz, eds. (1991).

The Method

The calculation of the indices begins with the reduction of the molecule to the hydrogen-suppressed skeleton or graph. Each atom is assigned two atom descriptors based upon the count of sigma electrons or valence electrons present, other than those bonded to hydrogen atoms. The sigma electron descriptor is

= - h,

where is the count of electrons in orbitals and h is the count of hydrogen atoms. This simple value of an atom is equal to the number of neighboring atoms in the molecular skeleton. The values of each atom are subsequently used in calculating the simple molecular connectivity indices. The valence electron descriptor is given as

v = Zv - h,

where Zv is the count of the valence electrons. A more general expression for v which includes atoms in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th rows of the periodic chart is

v = (Zv - h)/(Z - Zv -1),

where Z is the count of all electrons, the atomic number. The valence delta values are used in calculating the valence molecular connectivity indices.

The molecular connectivity indices or chi indices are symbolized mt. Substructures for a molecular skeleton are defined by the decomposition of the skeleton into fragments of:
a) atoms (zero order, m = 0);
b) one bond paths (first order, m = l);
c) two bond fragments (second order, m = 2);
d) three contiguous bond fragments (third order Path, m = 3, t = P);
and so forth. Other fragments include the cluster (three atoms attached to a central atom, m = 3, t = C); the path/cluster (equivalent to the isopentane skeleton, m = 4, t = PC); the chain fragment (cycles of 3, 4, 5 . . . atoms, m = 3, 4, 5. . ., t = CH).

For each order and fragment type, a connectivity index may be calculated. This calculation is made by multiplying the (or v) values for each atom in a fragment within a molecule. This product is then converted to the reciprocal square root and called the connectivity subgraph term ci. These terms are then summed over all the subgraphs (of order m and type t) in the entire molecule, Ns, to calculate the molecular connectivity index mt of order m and type t. 

	       m+1	   		   Ns
	  mci =  (k)-0.5     and     mt =  mci
               k=1			   i=1
The valence molecular connectivity indices mtv are calculated in the same way using v values throughout.

The calculations are made from input information which includes the connection matrix, designation of the atom type, and the count of bonded hydrogens to each atom. The valence delta values are determined in the program from the formalism given above.

Example: Acetylsalicylic acid

Structural Formula
Hydrogen-suppressed Graph or Molecular Skeleton

To calculate 1v, dissect the molecule into all its one-bond fragments, shown below; each bond fragment is labeled with the v values.

For each fragment compute the subgraph contribution, 


( vi * vj )-0.5,

and sum over all the bond fragments:


1v = 3.6175.

In an analogous manner the other connectivity indices can be calculated for path, cluster, path/cluster and ring type subgraphs. The finding of all the subgraphs of a given type becomes a difficult computational problem by hand. That is, of course, the reason for the development of Molconn-Z.

Molecular Shape Indices

Definition: The Kappa shape indices are the basis of a method of molecular structure quantitation in which attributes of molecular shape are encoded into three indices (Kappa values). These Kappa values are derived from counts of one-bond, two-bond and three-bond fragments, each count being made relative to fragment counts in reference structures which possess a maximum and minimum value for that number of atoms.

References

  1. L. B. Kier, Quant. Struct.-Act. Relat., 4, 109, (1985). A Shape Index from Molecular Graphs.
  2. L. B. Kier, Quant. Struct.-Act. Relat., 5, 1, 7, (1985). Distinguishing Atom Differences in a Molecular Graph Shape Index.
  3. L. B. Kier, Quant. Struct.-Act. Relat., 6, 8, (1987).
  4. L. B. Kier, Acta Pharm. Jugosl.,36, 171, (1986). Indices of Molecular Shape from Chemical Graphs.
  5. L. B. Kier, "Indices of Molecular Shape from Chemical Graphs" in Computational Chemical Graph Theory, D. H. Rouvray, Ed., Nova Press, (1989).
  6. L. H. Hall and L. B. Kier, "The Molecular Connectivity Chi Indices and Kappa Shape Indices in Structure-Property Modeling", in Reviews of Computational Chemistry, Volume 2, D. B. Boyd and K. Lipkowitz, eds. (1991).

The Method

The calculation of the indices begins with the reduction of the molecule to the hydrogen-suppressed skeleton. The count of 1-, 2-, and 3-bond fragments, 1P, 2P and 3P, respectively, is made. These values are used in calculating the Kappa indices 1, 2, and 3. The calculation of each index is made using the value of mPi and the mPmin and mPmax counts for graphs with the same number of atoms, A. These latter counts are the minimum and maximum numbers of paths of that order (m) that can be found in a real or hypothetical structure. Specifically, the mPmin for all orders of Kappa is the count of paths of length m in the linear skeleton. The mPmax structure is, for the m = 1, a complete graph (a); for m = 2, a star graph (b); and for m = 3, a twin star graph (c).

Below are the graphs for the structures corresponding to the maximum count of paths for orders 1, 2, and 3 in 6-atom molecules.

(a)		(b)		(c)
The values of the Kappa indices can be calculated directly from the path count mPi and the number of atoms using the equations:

1 = A(A-l)2/(1Pi)2



2 = (A-1)(A-2)2/(2Pi)2



3 = (A-3)(A-2)2/(3Pi)2; A is even



3 = (A-1)(A-3)2/(3Pi)2; A is odd
The presence of atoms other than C(sp3) is taken into consideration in each order of Kappa index by modifying each A and mPi in the equations above with a value:


 = r(x)/r[C(sp3)] - 1
where r(x) is the covalent radius of atom x and r[C(sp3)] is the covalent radius of carbon in the sp3 hybrid state. In the relation for the Kappa indices, A is replaced by A + and mPi is replaced by mPi + . The resulting Kappa values are designated as m. See Appendix II for the set of values currently used in the kappa shape indices.

Kappa Index Values for Small Molecules

In some small molecules, certain of the mP quantities may not be defined or are considered to be zero. This presents problems in applying the kappa algorithm. We consider one approach to solving this problem. The calculation of a 1 value is possible for any molecule except those represented by a single point, i.e., methane. In this case, 1 = 0 from the general equation for kappa-1. In general, for a straight chain molecule, 1 = A, and so an extrapolated value of 1 = 1.000 is adopted for methane.

The calculation of 2 values leads to non-zero values in all cases except for any graph representation of one or two atoms, such as methane and ethane. In both cases, 2 from the general equation is zero. In general, for straight chain molecules, 2 = A - 1. Values of 2 = 1.000 for ethane and 2 = 0 for methane are extrapolated and proposed as useful in cases where these molecules are part of a structure-activity analysis.

In the case of 3 values calculated from the general equations, the values for methane, ethane, and propane, are zero while the value for butane is 4.000, the same as for pentane. By linear extrapolation, more useful 3 values for these molecules are derived: methane 3 = 0, ethane 3 = 1.450, propane 3 = 2.000, and butane 3 = 3.378. These estimates are used to provide numerical values for small molecule which may appear in a series.

Example: Phenylethylamine

A = 9; 2Pi = 10


[C(sp3)] = -0.13; total  = -0.82


[NH2] = -0.04


2 = (A +  - 1)(A +  - 2)2/(2Pi + )2


2 = 3.254

Topological State Indices

Definition: The topological state indices are numerical values associated with each atom in a molecule and which encode information about the topological environment of that atom due to all other atoms in the molecule. The topological relationship to each other atom is based on the encoding of atom information in all the paths emanating from that atom. Topologically equivalent atoms have identical values of the topological state index Si and inequivalent atoms have different values.

References

  1. L. H. Hall and L. B. Kier, Quant. Struct.-Act. Relat., 9, 115 (1990).
  2. L.H. Hall, "Computational Aspects of Molecular Connectivity and its Role in Structure-Activity Modeling" in Computational Chemical Graph Theory, D. H. Rouvray, Ed., Nova Press, (1989).
  3. L. H. Hall and L. B. Kier, "The Molecular Connectivity Chi Indexes and Kappa Shape Indexes in Structure-Property Modeling", in Reviews of Computational Chemistry, Volume 2, D. B. Boyd and K. Lipkowitz, eds., (1991).

The Method

Each atom in the skeleton structure of a molecule is identified by the valence delta values described above. Beginning with any atom i, all contiguous paths of atoms, emanating from that atom to each other atom j, are identified. The lowest order path is the atom itself. This process is followed by finding all first order paths (bonds containing atom i) and so on ultimately including the longest paths(s) terminating on atom i. A numerical value is calculated for each of these paths and is an entry in the Topological State Matrix T. Each entry is calculated according to the formula

tij = (GMij)a(dij)b.
GMij is the geometric mean of the delta values of the atoms in the path of atoms of length dij atoms between atoms i and j. These path fragment values are then summed to give a topological state value Ti for atom i. Subsequent calculations produce Ti values for every atom. Several values of a and b have been investigated. Note: In reference 1 the symbol used for topological state was Si rather than Ti which is the proper symbol. We have adopted the symbol Si for the electrotopological state index, described in the next section.

The default option value <4> for the Topological State Algorithm in the Molconn-Z program uses a = +1 and b = -2: 

tij = (GMij)a(dij)b.

Example 1: 2-Propanol

Paths Between Atoms
Topological State Matrix, T
Topological
State Index, Ti
1
2
3
4
1CH3-CH3CH-CH3CHCH3CH3CHOH1.0001.1542.0801.216
5.451
2-CH<>CHCH3>CHOH1.1540.3331.1540.516
3.159
3CH3CH3CHOH2.0801.1541.0001.216
5.451
4-OH1.2160.5161.2160.200
3.149

Example 2: Isobutane

Paths Between Atoms
Topological State Matrix, T
Topological
State Index, Ti
1
2
3
4
1CH3-CH3CH-CH3CHCH3CH3CHCH31.0001.1542.0802.080
6.314
2-CH<>CHCH3>CHCH31.1540.3331.1541.514
3.797
3CH3CH3CHCH32.0801.1541.0002.080
6.314
4-CH32.0801.1542.0801.000
6.314

In these examples it can be observed that topological equivalence is indicated by the Ti values. In 2-propanol the topological equivalence of the two methyl groups is shown by the fact that T1 = T3; no other values are equal in accordance with the fact that no other atoms are topologically equivalent. In isobutane, three Ti values are equal, T1 = T3 = T4, in keeping with the fact that the three methyl groups are equivalent and the central methine group is unique. In this sense, the topological state index values represent the topological equivalence (topological symmetry) of the molecule. The pattern of Ti values for a portion of a molecule appears to be characteristic of that fragment and may be used as a basis for quantitative measures of fragment similarity.

The Electrotopological State

Definition: The electrotopological state indices are numerical values computed for each atom in a molecule and which encode information about both the topological environment of that atom and the electronic interactions due to all other atoms in the molecule. The topological relationship is based on the graph distance to each other atom. The electronic aspect is based on an intrinsic state plus perturbation due to intrinsic state differences between atoms in the molecule.

References

  1. L. B. Kier and L. H. Hall, "Molecular Structure Description: The Electrotopological State", Academic Press (1999).
  2. L. B. Kier and L. H. Hall, in Advances in Drug Design, Vol. 22, ed. B. Testa, Academic Press (1992). The Electrotopological State Index: An Atom-Centered Index for QSAR.
  3. L. B. Kier and L. H. Hall, Pharmaceutical Res., 7, 801, (1990). An Electrotopological State Index for Atoms in Molecules.
  4. L. H. Hall, B. K. Mohney and L. B. Kier, J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., 31, 76, (1991). The Electrotopological State: Structure Information at the Atomic Level for Molecular Graphs.
  5. L. H. Hall, B. K. Mohney and L. B. Kier, Quant. Struct.-Act. Relat., 10, 43, (1991). The Electrotopological State: An Atom Index for QSAR.
  6. L. B. Kier and L. H. Hall, J. Math. Chem., 7, 229 (1991). An Index of Electrotopological State of Atoms in Molecules.
  7. L. B. Kier and L. H. Hall, "An Index of Atom Electrotopological State", in QSAR in the Design of Bioactive Compounds", A telesymposium, A. Biaggi, ed., J. R. Prous Publishers, S.A. (1992).
  8. L. H. Hall, B. K. Mohney, and L. B. Kier, "Comparison of Electrotopological State Indexes with Molecular Orbital Parameters: Inhibition of MAO by Hydrazides", Quant. Struct.-Act. Relat., 12, 44-48 (1993).

The Method

Each skeletal atom or group is assigned an intrinsic state value, Ii, as follows:

Ii = [(2/N)2 v + 1]/

The intrinsic state encodes the valence state electronegativity of the atom as well as its local topology through the use of the molecular connectivity simple and valence delta values, and v.

The perturbation on atom i, arising from the presence of all other atoms j, is a function of the difference between the intrinsic atoms: Ii - Ij. The perturbation is diminished over distance; the functional dependence of the diminution is taken to be the square of the count of atoms in the shortest path between atoms i and j (rij). The perturbations are summed over the whole molecule:

Ii = (Ii - Ij)/rij2

The electrotopological state, called the E-state, of atom i, Si, is given as the sum of the intrinsic state and the perturbations:

Si = Ii + Ii

The E-state index values Si are output to the .S file if the appropriate records are selected and the .S file is selected in the Menu.

An example calculation of the contributions to the electrotopological state indices is given for alanine.

Example: Alanine

Intrinsic Values
I(1) = 2.000I(4) = 6.000
I(2) = 1.333I(5) = 4.000
I(3) = 1.667I(6) = 7.000

(Ii - Ij)/rij2 Matrix
i123456Ii = row sum
10.00.16670.0370-0.2500-0.2222-0.3125-0.5810
2-0.16670.0-0.0833-0.5185-0.6667-0.6296-2.0648
30.03700.08330.0-1.0833-0.2593-1.3333-2.6296
40.25000.51851.08330.00.1250-0.11111.8657
50.22220.66670.2593-0.12500.0-0.18750.8356
60.31250.62961.33330.11110.18750.02.5741
sum0.0000

The summary of calculated E-State Values for Alanine:
Si = Ii + Ii

The electrotopological state indices have been used in developing QSAR relations for a variety of biological properties in addition to certain physicochemical properties.

The Electrotopological State for Hydrogen Atoms

References

  1. G. E. Kellogg, L. B. Kier, P. Gaillard and L. H. Hall, "The E-State Fields. Applications to 3D QSAR", J. Comp. Aid. Molec. Des. 10, 513-520, (1996).

The method described in the previous section applies to the each skeletal atom (together with its attached hydrogen atoms). It is useful, however, to develop an E-state index for the hydrogen atoms alone. This is especially useful for hydrogen atoms which are described as polar. For this reason we have adopted the same formalism as given above but with a somewhat different approach for the intrinsic state value. We have taken I(H) to be primarily dependent upon the attached atom and have used the following expression:

I(H) = (v - )2/

This expression gives rise to the values in the following table.

X-H X(v - )I(H)
-OH416.0
=NH39.0
-NH224.0
=CH24.0
-NH-22.0
=CH211.0
=CH-11.0
-CH<00.0
-CH2-00.0
-CH300.0

As an example of the hydrogen E-state index values, consider the following for 3,3-dimethyl-4,5-dichlorohexanol. Polar hydrgen atoms have very large positive values; less polar hyrogens have proportinally lsmaller values. Even hydrogen atoms located on carbon atoms near halogen atoms are shown to be influenced.

Atom IDGroupValence
Delta		HES, SiIntrinsic
State, Ii		Connected
Atoms
1CH31.00-1.3820.0002
2CH3.000.0890.0001 3 4
3Cl0.780.0000.0002
4CH3.000.0730.0002 5 6
5Cl0.780.0000.0004
6C4.000.0000.0004 7 8 9
7CH31.00-1.2240.0006
8CH31.00-1.2240.0006
9CH22.00-2.3610.0006 10
10CH22.00-4.3740.0009 11
11OH5.0025.97916.00010

These values for I are used to compute an E-State index for each hydrogen atom in the molecule. These are stored in the .S file as HES.

(Revised) Hydrogen E-State Formalism

The Electrotopological State (E-State) formalism includes an algorithm for computation of an E-State value for the hydrogen atoms in each hydride group in the molecule. The E-State value is computed for whole groups such as -OH and -CH2- and separately for the hydrogen atoms in each group. Atoms (groups) without bonded hydrogens have a hydrogen E-State value of zero.

The formalism for the hydrogen E-State is parallel to that for the E-State index of each atom (or hydride group). For the hydrogen E-State the intrinsic state value is set to zero. The perturbation term (HIij) depends on the valence state electronegativity of the hydride group as given by the Kier-Hall (relative) electronegativity: RKHE = (v - )/n2 where n is the principal quantum number of the valence electrons of the atom. For the hydrogen E-State the perturbation term, HIij = (RKHEi - RKHEj)/rij2 in which rij is the number of atoms in the shortest path between atoms i and j. In addition to the perturbation contribution for every other hydride group, an additional contribution arises from the bond between the hydrogen atom and the atom to which it is bonded. Thus, for the hydrogen E-State value on atom i, HS(i) = (j HIij + ((-0.2) - RKHEi). The electronegativity of hydrogen is taken as -0.2 (on a scale in which C(sp3) is set to zero). For simplicity of use the actual value computed by Molconn-Z is taken as the negative of the value defined above to make all the values positive: HS(i) <-- -HS(i).

In the manner described here, Molconn-Z computes the hydrogen E-State values for each atom, a parallel set of values to the E-State values for each atom. The hydrogen E-State values are not highly correlated with the E-State values. The hydrogen E-State values are useful for characterizing both the polar and nonpolar portions of the structure. This new formalism repairs a bug in the earlier algorithm in which molecular symmetry was not always kept.

The Atom Type Electrotopological State Indices

References

  1. L. H. Hall and L. B. Kier, "Electrotopological State Indices for Atom Types: A Novel Combination of Electronic, Topological, and Valence State Information", J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., 35, 1039-1045 (1995).
  2. L. H. Hall, L. B. Kier and B. B. Brown, "Molecular Similarity Based on Novel Atom Type Electrotopological State Indices", J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., 35, 1074-1080 (1995).
  3. L. H. Hall and C. T. Story, "Boiling Point of a Set of Alkanes, Alcohols and Chloroalkanes: QSAR with Atom Type Electrotopological State Indices using Artificial Neural Networks", SAR and QSAR in Environ. Res. (manuscript submitted).

For data sets with a wide variety of atom types, it is useful to have E-state indices for each atom type. Molconn-Z computes the E-state for each skeletal atom (with attached hydrogens) and then sums the values for all the atoms of a given atom type. These atom type E-state indices are then output to the .S file for use in analysis.

Two papers have been written and a third submitted which discuss the development and use of the atom type E-state indices. In the first paper the definitions are given along with an application to the boiling point of alkanes and alcohols. In the second paper the atom type E-state indices are used to define a molecular similarity measure and as a basis for database searching. In the third paper atom type E-state indices are used to model the boiling point of a set of 372 alkanes, alcohols and chloroalkanes using artificial neural networks.

The following table shows the results of a sample computation for the molecule 3,3-dimethyl-4,5-dichlorohexanol. Part of the Molconn-Z output in the .L file is given here to show the E-state indices. Following that table is the table of atom type E-state indices.

Atom IDGroupValence
Delta		EState,
Si		Intrinsic
State, Ii		Connected
Atoms
1CH31.001.873362.0002
2CH3.00-0.057211.3331 3 4
3Cl0.785.834904.1112
4CH3.00-0.086741.3332 5 6
5Cl0.786.043104.1114
6C4.00-0.085841.2504 7 8 9
7CH31.002.013662.0006
8CH31.002.013662.0006
9CH22.000.692691.5006 10
10CH22.000.166501.5009 11
11OH5.008.730826.00010

A simple set of symbols was developed for the atom type E-state. For the methyl groups the symbol is SsCH3. For methylene it is SssCH2; for the terminal double-bonded CH2, it is SdCH2 and for the keto oxygen, it is SdO. A set of the symbols is given in Appendix III, Section A. For the molecule given above, the atom type E-state indices are as follows:

Atom
Type		E-state
Value
SsCH35.091
SssCH20.860
SsssCH-0.087
SssssC-0.086
SsOH8.731
SsCl11.878
The atom type E-state indices are output to the .S file according to the records selected by the user in the Menu. They are shown as records #31 - #37 in the .S file as shown in Appendix I.

Atom Types in Non-polar Hydrogen Groups

Descriptors for atom types for non-polar hydrogen groups are defined as follows, where the value is the sum of the Hydrogen E-State indices for all atoms of the type. The groups are classified as follows:

HCsats: Carbon sp3 bonded to other saturated carbon atoms
HCsatu: Carbon sp3 bonded to unsaturated carbon atoms
HdsCH: Carbon atoms in the vinyl group, =CH-
HdCH2: Carbon atoms in the terminal vinyl group, =CH2
Havin: Carbon atoms in the vinyl group, =CH-, bonded to an aromatic carbon
HaaCH: Carbon sp2 which are part of an aromatic system

All of the above descriptors are found in record #31 in the .S file. In addition there is a general descriptor for non-polar hydrogen atoms which is the sum of the Hydrogen E-State values for all non-polar C-H bonds, Hother, also found in record #31 in the .S file.

Polarity Topological Descriptors

A descriptor which captures information about polarity in the whole molecule is based on the sumI value for the molecule. SumI is the sum of the intrinsic state values for the whole molecule. Two reference structures are created which are iso-connective to the given molecule. The least polar one is taken to be the iso-connective carbon skeleton and the most polar one is taken to be one in which -F replaces each terminal atom, -O- replaces a divalent atom, >N- replaces each trivalent atom and >C< replaces each quaternary atom. Qv, found in record #47, is essentially taken as a ratio to the sumI values of these two extreme reference structures. The concept of Q is discussed in the new book "Molecular Structure Description: The Electrotopological State" (Academic Press, 1999).

Hydrogen Bonding Descriptor Indices

Several indices have been developed for describing hydrogen bonding, using the E-State and Hydrogen E-State indices. Atoms and groups which act as hydrogen bond donors are characterized by the E-State indices. The donor descriptor for a given molecule is the sum of the Hydrogen E-State values for all hydrogen bond donors in the molecule. The following groups are classified: -OH, =NH, -NH2, -NH-, -SH, and #CH. The symbol for the hydrogen bond donor index is SHBd. The acceptor descriptor for a given molecule is the sum of the E-State values for all hydrogen bond acceptors in the molecule. The following groups are classified: -OH, =NH,- NH2, -NH-, >N-, -O-, =O, -S- along with -F, and -Cl. The symbol for the hydrogen bond acceptor index is SHBa. The descriptor for weak hydrogen bond donor is the sum of C-H Hydrogen E-State values for hydrogen atoms on a carbon to which fluorine and/or chorine are also bonded. The symbol for weak hydrogen bond donor is SwHBd. Weak hydrogen bond acceptors are defined as aromatic and otherwise unsaturated carbons and are symbolized as SwHBa. See Appendix I for specific output location for these descriptors.

Descriptors that represent the potential for internal hydrogen bonding is determined as follows: There is a donor and an acceptor separated by n bonds along a path, the donor is characterized by the Hydrogen E-State value, the acceptor is characterized by the E-State value, and the internal hydrogen bond descriptor, SHBintn (where n is path length), is computed as the product of the Hydrogen E-State value times the E-State value. The most likely occurrence of internal hydrogen bonding is for paths of length 3 and 4. The complete hydrogen-bonded internal ring also includes the X-H bond as well as the hydrogen bond. Thus, the ring size is n + 2. Currently descriptors are computed for values of n from 2 to 10 although only those for n = 3, 4 are considered most useful. Also the count of the corresponding occurrences are included as nHBintn. See Appendix I for specific output location for these descriptors.

The Bond Type Electrotopological State Indices

The electrotopolgical state formalism is based on the skeletal atoms in the molecule. A similar approach has been developed in which the the basis is the set of bonds in the skeleton (edges in the graph). An intrinsic state value is assigned to each edge and then the perturbation from each other edge is computed and added to the edge I value. The bond E-state value is then computed in the same manner as is the value for each skeletal atom.

Iij = (Ii + Ij)/2

BESij = Iij + Iij/rij2

where rij is computed as the average rij for the atoms in the two bonds.

These computed values for individual bonds are then collected for each type of bond in the molecule. Appendix III lists the current set of bond types, numbering 895 at present.

The symbol for each bond type consists of an indicator for bond order, e1, e2, e3 or ea. The two atom types are encoded next. Finally, if necessary, an indication of unused bonds is given. For the bond between -CH3> and -CH2-, the symbol is e1C1C2. For the bond between =CH- and -CH2-, it is e1C2C2d. For the bond between =CH- and =CH-, there are two possibilities: e1C2C2d and e2C2C2s. The list of bond types and their symbols is given in Appendix III.

For the molecule 3,3-dimethyl-4,5-dichlorohexanol, the following tables of values are given in the Molconn-Z .L file.

*--> Bond E-State indices from bond types

Bond    Atom IDs	Atom Types	Bond	Type	Bond	Bond
No.	i	j	i	j	Order	No.     E-State	Symbol
----	----------	---------------	-----	----	-------	------	
1	1	2   	-CH3 	>CH-	1     	69   	1.383  	e1C1C3
2    	2 	3     	>CH-	-Cl	1    	290    	3.734	e1C3Cl
3    	2  	4    	>CH-	>CH-	1    	264	.389	e1C3C3
4    	4 	5    	>CH-	-Cl	1    	290    	3.973	e1C3Cl
5    	4 	6    	>CH-	>C<	1    	268	.359	e1C3C4
6    	6	7    	>C<	-CH3	1     	73    	1.491	e1C1C4
7    	6 	8     	>C<	-CH3	1     	73    	1.491	e1C1C4
8    	6 	9     	>C<	-CH2-	1    	138	.728	e2C2C4
9    	9	10     	-CH2- 	-CH2-	1    	132	.843	e1C2C2
10   	10	11    	-CH2-	-OH	1    	148    	5.220	e1C2O1

*--> Bond Type Indices:

		NET		ETS		Bond Type
No.     	Bond Count      Bond E-State	Symbol
---		----------	------------	---------
69          	1             	1.38273         e1C1C3
73      	2         	2.98245       	e1C1C4
132      	1          	.84259       	e1C2C2
138      	1          	.72820       	e2C2C4
148      	1         	5.21986       	e1C2O1
264      	1          	.38944       	e1C3C3
268     	1          	.35870       	e1C3C4
290      	2         	7.70714       	e1C3Cl

These indices have not yet been described in the literature. The bond type E-state indices are output to the .E file by Molconn-Z. Two catagories may be selected, inorganic or organic, in the Menu.

Orthogonal Indices: The Difference Chi Indices

In the development of QSAR equations, discriminant functions, similarity measures, and other aspects of structure analysis, it is desirable to have a set of orthogonal indices. The usual case with a data set is that there is some degree of collinearity among the variables used to describe the molecules in the data set. Whether topological indices or physical properties or calculated quantities are used, it is most unusual to find strict orthogonality within a data set.

For molecular connectivity indices, when a data set consists of diverse molecular structures, the collinearity is usually not large enough to pose a significant problem. However, when the set of molecules covers a large range in molecular size and/or there is not a high degree of structure diversity, collinearity can become a problem in various forms of statistical analysis.

There are well known methods for introducing orthogonality into a set of variables. Principal component analysis (PCA) is often used. In this method, the set of variables, xi, is transformed by linear combinations into a new set, called xi'. The new variables are obtained as the eigenvectors of either the variance/covariance matrix or the correlation matrix of the original variables. In this rather straightforward manner, each new principal component is a linear combination of all the original xi variables. Such an arrangement facilitates subsequent statistical analysis but interpretation is obscured because each principal component is a linear combination of every variable in the data set.

A second method is to use a Gram-Schmidt type orthogonalization (GSO). For a set of variables (x, i=1,n), x1 is selected as the first new variable, x1'. x2' is created to be orthogonal to x1'. A simple way to obtain x' is to regress x2 against x1' (=x1). The set of residuals from this regression, res2, is set equal to x2'. Because res2 is that part of x2 which is not correlated to x1, that is, res2 (=x2') orthogonal to x1. One can proceed in this manner to create a set of orthogonal indices, xi'. This method is a bit more cumbersome than using principal components. The first two or three of these xi' indices may also have more interpretability than the principal components. However, ultimately, interpretability is largely lost. Further, in both of these methods, the set of orthogonal indices is dependent upon the specific data set from which they were generated. Adding a few new observations tends to diminish the orthogonality as well as the interpretation given to the orthogonal indices.

Another method which we have been using approaches the problem somewhat differently. A major aspect of the collinearity problem is the significant contribution of molecular size to the constitution of the chi indices. In fact, when the data set spans a large size range, the collinearity tends to increase significantly. For this reason, we have chosen to create a largely, but not exactly, orthogonal index which is largely independent of molecular size. After size is removed, the salient aspects of structure encoded in the chi indices remains. These important aspects - branching, cyclization, heteroatom content, heteroatom position - are emphasized in these new indices.

For each order of chi path index for a given molecule, we created an index to encode size only for each order of path. This quantity is defined for the graph of the same size as the given molecule but for the unbranched, acyclic graph: mN for the simple path index and mcNv for the valence path index. The new, largely size-independent chi index of order m is called the difference chi index. The difference chi index is defined for both the simple path index and the valence path index of order m.

dmN = mP - mN, for simple path indices

dmNv = mPv - mNv, for valence path indices

In this manner, the size factor in the chi path index is subtracted out, leaving an index which is very nearly independent of size. For alkanes, the relation is exact. However, for heteroatom-containing indices, the relation is not exact. The size-independence of each difference index depends somewhat on the specific set of molecules. However, the definition of the difference chi index is independent of the data set. The difference chi indices are output to the .S file if it is selected in the Menu and if the appropriate records are selected for the .S file.

The difference chi indices are illustrated in the following table.

Illustration of Difference Chi Indices
for Path-1 and Path-3

Graph	     1N   d1   1N2   d1v   3N  d3P  3Nv  d3Pv
------------ ---- ---- ----- ----- ---- ---- ---- -----

Pi and Lone Pair Electrons: The Delta Chi Indices

The molecular connectivity indices contain structure information related to all the electrons, including valence and core electrons. The valence electrons include electrons assigned as sigma, pi and lone pair electrons. The electrons most important to intermolecular interactions are the pi and lone pair electrons. The sigma electrons are responsible for the molecular skeleton, giving rise to the molecular topology. Viewed in this fashion, the simple chi indices encode only the sigma electrons and the valence chi indices encode pi and lone pair electrons in addition to the sigma electrons.

It is possible, then, to remove that part of each chi index which encodes only the sigma electrons and leave that part which encodes the pi and lone pair electrons. This process simply involves subtraction of the simple index from the corresponding valence index of the same order. These indices are called the delta chi indices and are defined as follows.

mt = mtv - mt

where t stands for the types of chi indices: path (P), cluster (C), path-cluster (PC), and chain (CH).

The following table gives examples for the delta chi indices for four molecules and the three indices: 1t, 3P, 4PC.

Table of Structures to Illustrate the Delta Chi Index

Graph		1t   3P   4PC
--------------- ----- -----  -----

References

  1. L. H. Hall and L. B. Kier, "The Molecular Connectivity Chi Indexes and Kappa Shape Indexes in Structure-Property Relations", in Reviews of Computational Chemistry, Volume 2, Chap 9, pp 367-422, Donald Boyd and Ken Lipkowitz, eds., VCH Publishers, Inc. (1991).
  2. L. B. Kier and L. H. Hall, "Differential Molecular Connectivity in Database Fragment Searching", Pharm. Res., 6, 497 (1989).
  3. L. B. Kier and L. H. Hall, "A Differential Molecular Connectivity Index", Quant. Struct.-Act. Relat., 10, 134 (1991).

The delta chi indices are not included in the .S output file. The user can easily produce the delta chi indices in the processing of the .S file in conjunction with the statistical analysis of the data set.

It should be pointed out that it is also possible to construct the sum of a simple chi index and its valence counterpart:

mt = mtv + mt

A given sum chi index is, in general, orthogonal to the delta chi index of the same order. Thus, it is possible to reduce collinearity in the data set by converting from the chi indices to the set of delta and sum chi indices.

Vertex Eccentricity: Graph Radius and Diameter

Recently Petitjean developed the concept of the eccentricity of a graph vertex. According to the Petitjean definition, the eccentricity of a vertex corresponds to the distance from that vertex to the most remote vertex in the graph. The distance is obtained from the distance matrix as the count of edges between the two vertices. The graph radius R is defined as the smallest vertex eccentricity in the graph. The graph diameter D is defined as the largest vertex eccentricity in the graph. These eccentricities may then be used vertex (atom) topological indices. At this time these eccentricities apply strictly only to alkane graphs because no account is taken of atom or bonding differences. Future developments will make an extension possible to heteroatom molecules. For the present, the eccentricities may be useful as atom level characterization of the graph topology.

Petitjean also defined a graph shape index: I = (D - R)/D. This index characterizes the shape of various graphs. For any graph with all equivalent vertices, D = R and I = 0. Hence, a purely monocyclic graph has I = 0. For an acyclic graph, either D is even and D = 2R or D is odd and D = 2R - 1. For n-hexane R = 3 and D = 5 and I = 2/3; for n-heptane R = 3 and D = 6 and I = 3/6 = 1/2.

The vertex eccentricities are output to the .S file if it is selected in the Menu and if the appropriate records are selected for the .S file.

Reference

  1. M. Petitjean, "Applications of the Radius-Diameter Diagram to the Classification of Topological and Geometrical Shapes of Chemical Compounds", J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., 32, 331-337 (1992).

Inverse QSAR: Design of Molecules Directly from QSAR Equations

One of the most challenging problems in QSAR and drug design, or more generally in molecule design, is the design of active molecules. The structure base of the molecular connectivity chi indices has created the potential to extract from QSAR equations sufficient information so that molecules may be designed directly from those equations. This objective has been a goal of those who use topological indices because the purpose of those indices is to encode molecular structure information.

A major step towards this goal has been recently published. A target property or activity value together with the QSAR equations based on chi and/or kappa indices yields target values for 1, 2 and 3P indices. Using these low order molecular connectivity indices, we have developed a formal scheme for conversion of the chi indices into path counts and subsequently into counts of atoms types (vertex degrees). These atom types can be assembled directly into molecular structures.

chi indices --> path counts --> vertex degrees (atom types) --> graphs

The initial papers in the series deal with the molecular skeletons using only the simple chi indices. Incorporation of heteroatoms and bonding schemes are added from the experience of the user and the nature of the data sets and the property of interest. Current work is aimed at a broader scheme which will include heteroatoms and their placement directly.

The equations which related the basic graph quantities have been derived in a rigorous manner. These relating equations contain path counts, vertex degree counts and the number of rings:

1D = - 4D + 2p - 1p + 3 -3R

2D = 34D - 22p + 31p - 3 +3R

3D = -34D + 2p - 1p + 1 -R

where iD is the number of vertices of degree i; ip is the number of paths of length i edges; and R is the number of rings in the graph. See references 1 and 2 below for the details of the process. From the set of vertex degrees, Faradzhev has shown that it is possible to construct all the graphs consistent with that set of vertex degrees. The references below give detailed examples of the overall scheme and each of each steps.

The inverse QSAR process is not part of the Molconn software. However, the necessary chi indices along with the path counts (nxpi) and vertex degree counts (ndi) are all computed by Molconn-Z. See Appendix I for the list of variables in the .S file.

References

  1. L. B. Kier, L. H. Hall and J. W. Frazer, "Design of Molecules from Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship Models. 1. Information Transfer between Path and Vertex Degree Counts", J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., 33, 143 (1992).
  2. L. H. Hall, L. B. Kier and J. W. Frazer, "Design of Molecules from Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship Models. 2. Derivation and Proof of Information Transfer Relating Equations", J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., 33, 143 (1992).
  3. L. H. Hall and L. B. Kier, "Design of Molecules from Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship Models. 3. Role of Higher Order Path Counts: Path Three", J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., 33, 598-603 (1993).
  4. L. B. Kier and L. H. Hall, "The Generation of Molecular Structures from a Graph-Based Equation", Quant. Struct.-Act. Relat., 12, 383-388 (1993).

For our purposes here we will give the overall formal scheme as illustrated by one simple example taken from our first paper on the inverse QSAR investigation.

Inverse Imaging Example: Molar Volume for Acyclic Alkanes

An Example of the Inverse QSAR Scheme (Illustrating Each Step)

QSAR Equations Target Property Value
a. mv = 42.87 + 27.43 * 1 + 7.69 * 2 - 3.50 * 3 mv = 158. to 162.
b. mv = 44.40 + 25.49 * 1 + 7.49 * 2 - 0.058 * 4P
c. mv = 48.09 + 23.82 * 1 + 8.03 * 2 - 9.70 * 6P
d. mv = 40.50 + 35.72 * 1 - 4.64 * 3P - 17.72 * 6P
e. mv = 47.67 + 31.14 * 1 + 0.675 * 4P - 7.22 * 6P

STEP 1

Target Chi Index Values

1 = 3.498 to 3.616
2 = 3.275 to 3.413

STEP 2

Target Path Counts

1p = 7, 2p = 8, 9, 10
A = 8, R = 0

STEP 3

Target Degree Sets

1D 2D 3D 4D
1. 4 2 2 0
2. 5 0 3 0
3. 4 3 0 1
4. 5 1 1 1

STEP 4

Candidate Graphs

STEP 5

Target Graphs