Chemoinformatics is a scientific discipline that has been evolving in the last 40 years at the interface between chemistry and computer science. It has been realized that in many areas of chemistry, the huge amount of data and information produced by chemical research can only be processed and analyzed by computer methods. Furthermore, many of the problems faced in chemistry are so complex that novel approaches utilizing solutions that are based on informatics methods are needed. Thus, methods were developed for building databases on chemical compounds and reactions, for the prediction of physical, chemical and biological properties of compounds and materials, for drug discovery, for structure elucidation, for the prediction of chemical reactions and for the design of organic syntheses.
Research and development of chemoinformatics is an indispensable condition for further development of chemistry and understanding chemical phenomena by people, the key of industrial competitiveness in the context of global economic processes.
The methods of chemoinformatics can be applied in any field of chemistry from analytical to organic; methodology of this discipline is extremely important for developing effective medicine. European scientific organizations have made a significant contribution for chemoinformatics development by attracting funds for variety of national programs. Nowadays a great attention is paid to the chemoinformatics at the state level in USA, Japan, China and India.
The participants of the steam “Physics, chemistry and living systems” and particularly of the course “Chemoinformatics” will have an opportunity to find out about modern directions of research of chemical informatics. An emphasis will be put on application of its achievements for solving urgent environmental problems. The course begins with a basic description of the chemoinfomatics, its role in drug discovery and environmental protection. Several examples of practical application of chemoinformatics in drug discovery and environment will be given.
Language of the course — English.
Tutor of the course:
Dr. I. Tetko, Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen