Quantitative structure-property relationships for colour reagents and their colour reactions with cerium using computational neural networks

Quantitative structure-activity/property relationships (QSAR/QSPR) studies have been exploited extensively in the designs of drugs and pesticides, but few such studies have been applied to the design of colour reagents. In this work, the topological indices A(x1)-A(x3) suggested in this laboratory were applied to multivariate analysis in structure-property studies. The topological indices of 43 phosphone bisazo derivatives of chromotropic acid were calculated. The structure-property relationships between colour reagents and their colour reactions with cerium were studied using A(x1-Ax3) indices with satisfactory results. The purpose of this work was to establish whether QSAR can be used to predict the contrasts of colour reactions and in the longer term to be a helpful tool in colour reagent design.