ABSTRACT
In this chapter we present and discuss Enalos+ nodes designed and developed by NovaMechanics Ltd. for the open-source KNIME platform, as a useful aid when dealing with cheminformatics and nanoinformatics problems or medicinal applications. Enalos+ nodes facilitate tasks performed in molecular modeling and allow access, data mining, and manipulation for multiple chemical databases through the KNIME interface. Enalos+ nodes automate common procedures that greatly facilitate the rapid workflow prototyping within KNIME. Μethods and techniques that are included in Enalos+ nodes are presented in order to offer a deeper understanding of the theoretical background of the incorporated functionalities. An emphasis is given to demonstrate the usefulness of Enalos+ nodes in different cheminformatics applications by presenting four indicative case studies. Specifically, we present case studies that underline the value and the effectiveness of the nodes for molecular descriptors calculation and QSAR predictive model development. In addition, case studies are also presented demonstrating the benefits of the use of Enalos+ nodes for database exploitation within a drug discovery project.
Subject(s)
Databases, Factual , Drug Design , Models, Molecular , SoftwareABSTRACT
In this chapter we present and discuss, with the aid of several representative case studies from drug discovery and computational toxicology, a new cheminformatics platform, Enalos Suite, that was developed with open source and freely available software. Enalos Suite ( http://enalossuite.novamechanics.com/ ) was designed and developed as a useful tool to address a variety of cheminformatics problems, given that it expedites tasks performed in predictive modeling and allows access, data mining and manipulation for multiple chemical databases (PubChem, UniChem, etc.). Enalos Suite was carefully designed to permit its extension and adjustment to the special field of interest of each user, including, for instance, nanoinformatics, biomedical, and other applications. To demonstrate the functionalities of Enalos Suite that are useful in different cheminformatics applications, we present indicative case studies that include the exploitation of chemical databases within a drug discovery project, the calculation of molecular descriptors, and finally the development of a predictive QSAR model validated according to OECD principles. We aspire that at the end of this chapter, the reader will capture the effectiveness of different functionalities included in the Enalos Suite that could be of significant value in a multitude of cheminformatics applications.