Classification scheme for the design of serine protease targeted compound libraries.

The development of a scoring scheme for the classification of molecules into serine protease (SP) actives and inactives is described. The method employed a set of pre-selected descriptors for encoding the molecular structures, and a trained neural network for classifying the molecules. The molecular requirements were profiled and validated by using available databases of SP- and non-SP-active agents [1,439 diverse SP-active molecules, and 5,131 diverse non-SP-active molecules from the Ensemble Database (Prous Science, 2002)] and Sensitivity Analysis. The method enables an efficient qualification or disqualification of a molecule as a potential serine protease ligand. It represents a useful tool for constraining the size of virtual libraries that will help accelerate the development of new serine protease active drugs.