Partial least squares modeling and genetic algorithm optimization in quantitative structure-activity relationships.

Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) studies based on chemometric techniques are reviewed. Partial least squares (PLS) is introduced as a novel robust method to replace classical methods such as multiple linear regression (MLR). Advantages of PLS compared to MLR are illustrated with typical applications. Genetic algorithm (GA) is a novel optimization technique which can be used as a search engine in variable selection. A novel hybrid approach comprising GA and PLS for variable selection developed in our group (GAPLS) is described. The more advanced method for comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) modeling called GA-based region selection (GARGS) is described as well. Applications of GAPLS and GARGS to QSAR and 3D-QSAR problems are shown with some representative examples. GA can be hybridized with nonlinear modeling methods such as artificial neural networks (ANN) for providing useful tools in chemometric and QSAR.