A new graph descriptor for molecules containing cycles. Application as screening criterion for searching molecular structures within large databases of organic compounds.

The search of molecular structures inside a large database of chemical compounds is a critical step for many computer programs used in several domains of chemistry. During the last years, the size of many chemical databases has dramatically increased, hence in the meantime, search engines needed to be more and more powerful. The speed and the efficiency of screening processes of the chemical compounds are thus essential. Looking forward for algorithms dedicated to structure and substructure search, we have developed a new graph descriptor for structures containing cycles in order to find efficient indexation and classification criteria of molecular structures. This graph descriptor can be used as a screening criteria for structure and substructure search in large databases of organic compounds.