TOPOLOGICAL AND STEREOCHEMICAL MOLECULAR DESCRIPTORS FOR DATABASES USEFUL IN QSAR, SIMILARITY DISSIMILARITY AND DRUG DESIGN/

A review is presented on: (i) topological indices (TIs) which are numb ers derived from constitutional formulas and which have continuously e volved towards higher discriminating power and better correlating abil ity; (ii) stereochemical descriptors, allowing structures of diastereo mers and enantiomers to be encoded in computer language. Uses of these descriptors include: structure encoding and retrieval; quantitative s tructure-activity relationships (QSAR) and computer-assisted drug desi gn (CADD); creation and exploration of data bases; quantitative assess ment of similarity and dissimilarity.