Applications of a HOUDINI-based structure elucidation system.

SESAMI, a comprehensive program for the elucidation of the structure of complex compounds of carbon, incorporates a structure reduction-based structure genearator (COCOA). Observed limitations with this program in the solution of higher molecular weight unknowns prompted the development of a structure generator (HOUDINI) which embodies a new concept, convergent structure generation. A comparison of the performance of COCOA-based and HOUDINI-based SESAMI using a set of complex, naturally occurring compounds as a test set of unknowns revealed faster execution times and more efficient processing of ambiguous structural information for the latter.

HOUDINI: a new approach to computer-based structure generation.

A new method of structure generation called convergent structure generation has been developed to address limitations of earlier methods. The features of the program (HOUDINI) based on this method include the following: a single integrated representation of the collective substructural information; the use of parallel atom groups for efficient processing of families of alternative substructural inferences; and a managed structure generation procedure designed to build required structural features early in the process.

Simulation of organic reactions: from the degradation of chemicals to combinatorial synthesis

Organic reactions can be run under a variety of conditions, from laboratory experiments, through technical processes, to combinatorial chemistry. The scope is further extended when the metabolism of compounds and the reactions in the mass spectrometer are included. We present here several concepts: reactors, phases, and modes, which, together with a kinetic modeling, allow the treatment of such a broad scope of organic reactions. These concepts have been implemented in a knowledge-based system, EROS. Several applications of this system to the wide world of organic reactions are given.